Summary

On 11 March 2020, the World Health Organization declared COVID-19 a global pandemic, and the disease now affects nearly every country and region. Caused by SARS-CoV-2, COVID-19 continues nearly 18 months later to present significant challenges to health systems and public health in both hemispheres, as well as the economies of every country. The morbidity and mortality of the infection caused by SARS-CoV-2 has been significant, and various waves of disease outbreaks initially overwhelmed many hospitals and clinics and continue to do so in many countries. This influences everyone, and public health countermeasures have been dramatic in terms of their impact on employment, social systems, and mental health. This entry collection aims to gather diverse fields about COVID-19, including in epidemiology, public health, medicine, genetics, systems biology, informatics, data science, engineering, sociology, anthropology, nursing, environmental studies, statistics, and psychology.

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Entries
Topic Review
Photobiomodulation Therapy and COVID-19
COVID-19 is a viral disease characterized as a pandemic by the World Health Organization in March 2020. Since then, researchers from all over the world have been looking for ways to fight this disease. Many cases of complications arise from insufficient immune responses due to low immunity, with intense release of pro-inflammatory cytokines that can damage the structure of organs such as the lung. Thus, the hypothesis arises that photobiomodulation therapy (PBMT) with the use of a low-level laser (LLLT) may be an ally approach to patients with COVID-19 since it is effective for increasing immunity, helping tissue repair, and reducing pro-inflammatory cytokines. This systematic entry was performed with the use of PubMed/MEDLINE, Web of Science, Scopus and Google Scholar databases with the following keywords: “low-level laser therapy OR photobiomodulation therapy AND COVID-19”. 
  • 1.3K
  • 04 Aug 2021
Topic Review
SARS-CoV-2 Neurological Implications
Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19), caused by Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome Coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2), is an emergent infectious disease that has caused millions of deaths throughout the world. COVID-19 infection’s main symptoms are fever, cough, fatigue, and neurological manifestations such as headache, myalgias, anosmia, ageusia, impaired consciousness, seizures, and even neuromuscular junctions’ disorders. Due to the neurological symptoms associated to COVID-19, damage in the central nervous system has been suggested as well as the neuroinvasive potential of SARS-CoV-2. 
  • 1.1K
  • 29 Jun 2021
Topic Review
COVID-19: IoT Adoption in Healthcare
COVID-19 has disrupted normal life and has enforced a substantial change in the policies, priorities and activities of individuals, organisations and governments. These changes are proving to be a catalyst for technology and innovation. In this entry, we discuss the pandemic's potential impact on the adoption of the Internet of Things (IoT) in healthcare. Our perspective and forecast of this impact on IoT adoption is based on a thorough research literature review, a careful examination of reports from leading consulting firms and interactions with several industry experts. For each of these sectors, we also provide the details of notable IoT initiatives taken in wake of COVID-19. We also highlight the challenges that need to be addressed and important research directions that will facilitate accelerated IoT adoption.
  • 2.0K
  • 28 Jun 2021
Topic Review
Th17 Response in COVID-19
COVID-19 is an acute infectious disease of the respiratory system caused by infection with the SARS-CoV-2 virus (Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome Coronavirus 2). Transmission of SARS-CoV-2 infections occurs through droplets and contaminated objects. A rapid and well-coordinated immune system response is the first line of defense in a viral infection. However, a disturbed and over-activated immune response may be counterproductive, causing damage to the body. Severely ill patients hospitalised with COVID-19 exhibit increased levels of many cytokines, including Interleukin (IL)-1β, IL-2, IL-6, IL-7, IL-8, IL-10, IL-17, granulocyte colony stimulating factor (G-CSF), monocyte chemoattractant protein 1 (MCP-1) and tumor necrosis factor (TNF). Increasing evidence suggests that Th17 cells play an important role in the pathogenesis of COVID-19, not only by activating cytokine cascade but also by inducing Th2 responses, inhibiting Th1 differentiation and suppressing Treg cells.
  • 976
  • 25 Jun 2021
Topic Review
Misdiagnosis of SARS-CoV-2
SARS-CoV-2 has been the biggest pandemic since the influenza outbreak of 1918-1919. One of the biggest differences during the COVID-19 pandemic, in comparison to 1918-1919, has been the ability to rapidly test and diagnose the presence of the virus within patients and the general public. As with every testing regime, there is always going to be false negatives and misdiagnoses. The aim of this critical review was to assess the factors contributing to misdiagnosis of COVID-19 by examining sample types, diagnostic methods and by looking at asymptomatic versus symptomatic patients. It was found that a combination of detection methods such as the additional use of a computer tomography scan may help in reducing the level of false negatives in both symptomatic and asymptomatic patients. It was concluded that sputum and oral throat-washing samples should take precedence over swabbing where possible, while sample pooling should be used for widespread screening within the general population. The novel Oxford antibody assay was found to have the highest sensitivity and specificity of all commercially available kits, but should only be used within a specific timeframe to avoid misdiagnosis. Similarly, sample collection time and test method can greatly affect the outcome of the diagnostic method being conducted.
  • 958
  • 24 Jun 2021
Topic Review
A COVID-19 Education Recovery Program
As a consequence of the COVID-19 pandemic, many students have developed substantial educational delays, both cognitively and social-emotionally. To counter such negative effects of the school closures, several policies and support strategies on attainment and social-emotional well-being have been proposed and implemented. In the Netherlands, the focus is on using evidence-based interventions to boost educational achievement. The question is, however, how evidence-based the interventions really are. 
  • 2.0K
  • 23 Jun 2021
Topic Review
Dendrimers for Infectious Diseases
Functionalized and modified dendrimer platforms are capable of precise imaging and efficient treatment of tumors, providing solutions for combined monitoring and early treatment of cancers.
  • 1.1K
  • 05 Jul 2021
Topic Review
Innate Immunity and SARS-CoV-2 Infection
The innate immune system is important for initial antiviral response. SARS-CoV-2 can result in overactivity or suppression of the innate immune system. A dysregulated immune response is associated with poor outcomes; with patients having significant Neutrophil-to-Lymphocyte ratios (NLR) due to neutrophilia alongside lymphopenia. Elevated cytokines like interleukin (IL)-6 and IL-8 leads to overactivity and is a prominent feature of severe COVID-19 patients. Several factors like pre-existing co-morbidities, genetic risks, viral pathogenicity, and therapeutic efficacy act as important modifiers of SARS-CoV-2 risks for disease through an interplay with innate host inflammatory responses. In this review, we discuss the role of the innate immune system at play with other important modifiers in SARS-CoV-2 infection.
  • 998
  • 21 Jun 2021
Topic Review
Intimate Partner Violence during COVID-19
Domestic violence abuse (DVA) is a widespread public health problemthat includes different kinds of abuse, such as that upon elderly individuals and children in the family, while intimate partner violence (IPV) refers to violence by a current or former spouse or partner in an intimate relationship with the victim. IPV can be physical, psychological, sexual, or economic and can have negative health consequences on the victim. Social isolation is considered one of the main risk factors leading to intimate partner violence episodes; this evidence also emerged during the application of stay-at-home policies to contain the COVID-19 pandemic.
  • 1.1K
  • 17 Jun 2021
Topic Review
Nutrition in Actual COVID-19 Pandemic
The pandemic of Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19) has shocked world health authorities generating a global health crisis. A direct impact on the normal life of people around the world was produced by the actual pandemic with restrictive policies like lockdown, the use of protective masks, and limitations of personal movement. The COVID-19 lockdown promoted unhealthy dietary changes and increases in body weight of the population, showing obesity and low physical activity levels as increased risk factors of COVID-19 affection and physiopathology. In addition, hospitalized COVID-19 patients presented malnutrition and deficiencies in vitamin C, D, B12 selenium, iron, omega-3, and medium and long-chain fatty acids highlighting the potential health effect of vitamin C and D interventions. 
  • 800
  • 17 Jun 2021
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