A COVID-19 Rehabilitation Prospective Surveillance Model for Use by Physiotherapists
mental health, covid-19, cardiorespiratory system, neuromuscular system, prospective surveillance model
The long-term sequelae of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) are only now beginning to be defined, but it is already known that the disease can have direct and indirect impacts mainly on the cardiorespiratory and neuromuscular systems and may affect mental health. A role for rehabilitation professionals from all disciplines in addressing COVID-19 sequelae is recognised, but it is essential that patient assessment be systematic if health complications are to be identified and treated and, if possible, prevented. The aim is to present a COVID-19 prospective surveillance model based on sensitive and easily used assessment tools, which is urgently required. Following the Oxford Centre for Evidence-Based Medicine Level of Evidence Tool, an expert team in cardiorespiratory, neuromuscular and mental health worked via telemeetings to establish a model that provides guidelines to rehabilitation professionals working with patients who require rehabilitation after suffering from COVID-19. A COVID-19 prospective surveillance model is proposed for use by rehabilitation professionals and includes both face-to-face and telematic monitoring components. This model should facilitate the early identification and management of long-term COVID-19 sequelae, thus responding to an arising need.
Paula Postigo-Martin, Irene Cantarero-Villanueva, Ana Lista-Paz, Eduardo Castro-Martín, Manuel Arroyo-Morales, Jesús Seco-Calvo
A COVID-19-Based Modified Epidemiological Model and Technological Approaches to Help Vulnerable Individuals Emerge from the Lockdown in the UK
coronavirus, covid-19, Personal protective equipment, contact-tracing, Epidemiological model, infection spread modelling
COVID-19 has shown a relatively low case fatality rate in young healthy individuals, with the majority of this group being asymptomatic or having mild symptoms. However, the severity of the disease among the elderly as well as in individuals with underlying health conditions has caused significant mortality rates worldwide. Understanding this variance amongst different sectors of society and modelling this will enable the different levels of risk to be determined to enable strategies to be applied to different groups. Long-established compartmental epidemiological models like SIR and SEIR do not account for the variability encountered in the severity of the SARS-CoV-2 disease across different population groups. The objective of this study is to investigate how a reduction in the exposure of vulnerable individuals to COVID-19 can minimise the number of deaths caused by the disease, using the UK as a case study. To overcome the limitation of long-established compartmental epidemiological models, it is proposed that a modified model, namely SEIR-v, through which the population is separated into two groups regarding their vulnerability to SARS-CoV-2 is applied. This enables the analysis of the spread of the epidemic when different contention measures are applied to different groups in society regarding their vulnerability to the disease. A Monte Carlo simulation (100,000 runs) along the proposed SEIR-v model is used to study the number of deaths which could be avoided as a function of the decrease in the exposure of vulnerable individuals to the disease. The results indicate a large number of deaths could be avoided by a slight realistic decrease in the exposure of vulnerable groups to the disease. The mean values across the simulations indicate 3681 and 7460 lives could be saved when such exposure is reduced by 10% and 20% respectively. From the encouraging results of the modelling a number of mechanisms are proposed to limit the exposure of vulnerable individuals to the disease. One option could be the provision of a wristband to vulnerable people and those without a smartphone and contact-tracing app, filling the gap created by systems relying on smartphone apps only. By combining very dense contact tracing data from smartphone apps and wristband signals with information about infection status and symptoms, vulnerable people can be protected and kept safer.
Omprakash Kaiwartya, Dario Ortega Anderez, Eiman Kanjo, Ganna Pogrebna, Shane D. Johnson, John Alan Hunt
A Cresol Vale Europeu e o crédito rural para a agricultura familiar na visão dos atores sociais
Credit cooperatives, Family farming, rural credit
This research is about the rural credit cooperative Cresol Vale Europeu, linked to the Central Cresol Baser, belonging to the Cresol System. The Cooperative was born at the end of 2018, through the incorporation of five singular cooperative that exist in the cities of ÁguasMornas, Botuverá, Ituporanga, São João do Itaperiú and Schröeder. Credit cooperatives in the solidarity financial system were created in the end of twentieth century to democratize financial services to the excluded population. Historically, rural credit for family farming was the main financial product of the Cresol System. This situation has been changing in recent years due to external factors to the cooperative and others factors. This research has studied how rural credit fits into this new environment of Cresol’s performance, analyzing its results, potentialities and limits in terms of cooperative governance and rural development. This investigation was carried out based on field research with social actors in the territory of cooperative’s operation, through semi-structured interviews with cooperative family farmers, technicians and managers. In their view, the results obtained by the Cooperative in its policies of rural credit for family farming are the fruit of a close work, which has managed, over time, to improve its governance in the face of the challenges imposed by the financial market. However, the main challenge lies in the paradox between ensuring the growth and expansion of the Cooperative and strengthening social ties that maintain a good relationship with the membership, especially the rural environment that is the origin of the Cooperative.
Fábio Luiz Búrigo, Cristiano Desconsi, Marcos Catelli Rocha
Social Sciences, Social sciences (General)
A crise ambiental e o papel da Educação: um estudo fundado na ontologia marxiana Environmental crisis and the role of Education: a study based upon the marxian ontology
Educação ambiental, Environmental Education, Marxian Ontology, Ontologia marxiana, ecology, ecología
Este artigo está associado a uma pesquisa em andamento que examina, de forma mais ampla, os paradigmas e políticas educacionais emanados do Projeto de Educação para Todos, tendo como referência a perspectiva da ontologia marxiana. Sob esse prisma, intenta oferecer elementos críticos introdutórios quanto ao tratamento conferido de forma dominante à questão da crise ambiental e seus desdobramentos na educação para o desenvolvimento sustentável. Nesse sentido, apresenta, em linhas gerais, o que de mais recorrente encontra-se sobre a problemática ecológica, revisitando acontecimentos expressivos da agenda ambientalista e pontuando, nesse contexto, o papel atribuído à educação. Com base nas contribuições de estudiosos atentos às relações entre ecologia, educação e o complexo da reprodução social, aponta para a superação da ordem vigente como condição imperativa de resolutividade dos problemas atinentes à sobrevivência da espécie humana, assim como da emancipação plena da humanidade.The paper relates to a research study currently in progress, which analyses, in a broader way, the educational paradigms connected to a Project entitled Education for All, from the Marxian ontology point of view. In this sense, it attempts to offer some introductory critical elements to the dominant approach applied to the issue of environmental crisis and its implications to the education for sustainable development. To accomplish this task, it portrays, in general lines, the most current discourses on ecology, going over some significant events that compose the environmental agenda, placing in this context, the role of education. Based upon the contributions of some authors who establish the necessary relationships between ecology, education, and the complexity of social reproduction, it points out the need to overcome the present social order, as an imperative condition for the solution of problems concerning human survival, as well as, that of full emancipation of mankind.
A Critical Analysis of Corona Related Data: What the More Reliable Data Can Imply for Western-Europe
similarity, coronavirus 19, CoV-19, critical data analysis
We present a less common type of discussion about COVID-19 data, beginning with the observation that the number of people reported deceased following COVID-19 infection is currently the most reliable dataset to be used. When the available real-life data are visualized for a number of European countries, they reveal the commonly seen exponential increase, though with different absolute rates, and over time different periods. More interesting information is obtained upon inspection of the daily increments in deaths. These curves look very similar to those for China, and seem to indicate that in European countries that have imposed more strict human–human contact measures, in particular Italy and Spain, where we have seen a decrease in daily deaths since early April, it is to be expected it will take 40–50 days from the end of March until this number has fallen to negligible levels. Taking the initial increase in the number of deaths for Germany, and combining this with typical values for the mortality reported in the literature and the published number of daily contacts for the working population, we calculated an initial increase in infections of 20 per day by a single infected person with an average human–human contact number of 22, decreasing to 5.5 after the first 10 days. The high number at the outset is likely related to outbreaks in a high local concentration of people.
Biology (General), Technology, Physics, Chemistry, Engineering (General). Civil engineering (General)
A critical analysis of the current SARS model for the disclosure of reportable arrangements and a proposed alternative
arrangement, reportable, tax benefit, SARS, penalty, SAICA, Tax Administration Bill
The reportable arrangements (RA) provisions are contained in sections 80M to 80T of the Income Tax Act. SARS issued a revised Draft Guide on 31 March 2010, which contains a model for the application of these provisions. However, due to numerous discrepancies and ambiguities contained in the Act and the guide, the interpretation of these provisions could be subjective and difficult to apply in practice. Failure to disclose a RA may result in a R1 million penalty. It is the purpose of this paper to develop an alternative, workable model to serve as a usable guide for taxpayers. This paper comprises a literature review and a study of empirical evidence obtained through a survey conducted among tax partners at a sample of 40 leading audit and legal firms. The majority of respondents considered the alternative model to be more accurate, user-friendly and helpful than SARS’ model.
Journal of Economic and Financial Sciences
African Online Scientific Information Systems
A critical evaluation of food programs in Argentina
Argentina, Nutrición en Salud Pública, Programas y Políticas de Nutrición y Alimentación, Seguridad Alimentaria y Nutricional
Argentina tiene una historia de más de 60 años de programas alimentarios con escasísimas o nulas evaluaciones, aun cuando se han producido cambios epidemiológicos y sociales muy importantes en su población objetivo. En este artículo se revisan los programas alimentarios del Estado de alcance nacional, que tengan como propósito de su formulación contribuir a la seguridad alimentaria de las familias más necesitadas; se actualiza la situación nutricional de su población objetivo; y se proponen argumentos para analizar los programas vigentes a partir de una tipología basada en los componentes de la seguridad alimentaria. Una revisión general de los programas alimentarios requiere ser realizada desde su concepción, contenido y alcance, para que dejen de ser meras ayudas sociales y se transformen en portadores del derecho a una mejor alimentación y nutrición.
Instituto de Salud Colectiva, Universidad Nacional de Lanús
http://revistas.unla.edu.ar/saludcolectiva/article/view/935
A Critical Inquiry into the Value of Systems Thinking in the Time of COVID-19 Crisis
covid-19, Systems Thinking, ecology, critical recovery, integral critical systems
The COVID-19 pandemic offers an historic precedent to review and challenge the values of social, economic, environmental, and cultural belief systems. The concept of the “New Normal” and the experience of the global pandemic provide points of transition in thinking about our relationship to our planet and to each other. These include the fragility of contemporary economics, dependency on industrialized urban infrastructures, and reliance on top-down governance, vulnerability to climate disasters, dislocation from the natural world, societal inequalities, and the loss of cultural memory. The paper considers the potential role of systems thinking in attempting to manage societies’ responses to the pandemic. To provide the methodological context in which some systems thinking can be applied to alleviate the pandemic, we conduct a focused literature review of systemic frameworks, and using examples from Brazil and England, the paper questions the validity of existing disaster management systems and proposes an integrated critical systems approach. Reflecting on these experiences, questions of systems criticality are further developed and considered in relation to critical recovery from disasters and as integral critical systems (ICS) to interrogate the intention of systems. Finally, the paper reflects upon the value of systems and the values embedded in systems that may or may not promote equitable well-being in recovery from disasters such as COVID-19.
David Haley, Alberto Paucar-Caceres, Sandro Schlindwein
Technology (General), Systems engineering
A critical juncture in universal healthcare: insights from South Korea’s COVID-19 experience for the United Kingdom to consider
Abstract Universal healthcare systems have undergone a severe stress test in the form of the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic. With respect to the system-embedded allocation of decision-making powers and responsibilities among actors, different modalities have been revealed in the COVID-19 responses of South Korea and the UK, respectively. This article compares and analyzes how these two countries’ healthcare systems have reacted to COVID-19. Although both have implemented similar responsive measures, the UK has recorded a higher number of confirmed cases per thousand people and a higher death rate. Based on the analysis on which this paper is built, the key differences between the two systems are the UK system’s lack of: (1) appropriate medical equipment and technologies along with the human resources; and (2) flexible policy options to incentivize healthcare providers and induce cooperation from the public in a time of national crisis. The UK’s healthcare system is now approaching a critical juncture. The expansion of internal competition, which was introduced to the system in 1991, can serve as means of initiating a resolution to the above-mentioned issues and further reform its system. Under the UK government’s close supervision and precise control, allowing non-reimbursable special medical treatment in the system and widening public choice of medical services would be a suitable policy approach promoting internal competition while at the same time maintaining the UK’s devotion to universal healthcare. The underlying implication of internal competition though is the sharing of decision-making powers and responsibilities with societal and private sectors by inducing and facilitating participation at all levels. Fighting against COVID-19 however is widely considered ‘all-out-war.’ Under the UK government’s supervision and control, it is time for society to step up and fight the pandemic together.
Kyungmoo Heo, Keonyeong Jeong, Daejoong Lee, Yongseok Seo
Social Sciences, History of scholarship and learning. The humanities
Viruses, Zoonoses, coronavirus, Pandemics, COVID-19, 2019 novel coronavirus disease
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention
Infectious and parasitic diseases, Medicine