A global outlook to the interruption of education due to COVID-19 Pandemic: Navigating in a time of uncertainty and crisis

Uncertain times require prompt reflexes to survive and this study is a collaborative reflex to better understand uncertainty and navigate through it. The Coronavirus (Covid-19) pandemic hit hard and interrupted many dimensions of our lives, particularly education. As a response to interruption of education due to the Covid-19 pandemic, this study is a collaborative reaction that narrates the overall view, reflections from the K12 and higher educational landscape, lessons learned and suggestions from a total of 31 countries across the world with a representation of 62.7% of the whole world population. In addition to the value of each case by country, the synthesis of this research suggests that the current practices can be defined as emergency remote education and this practice is different from planned practices such as distance education, online learning or other derivations. Above all, this study points out how social injustice, inequity and the digital divide have been exacerbated during the pandemic and need unique and targeted measures if they are to be addressed. While there are support communities and mechanisms, parents are overburdened between regular daily/professional duties and emerging educational roles, and all parties are experiencing trauma, psychological pressure and anxiety to various degrees, which necessitates a pedagogy of care, affection and empathy. In terms of educational processes, the interruption of education signifies the importance of openness in education and highlights issues that should be taken into consideration such as using alternative assessment and evaluation methods as well as concerns about surveillance, ethics, and data privacy resulting from nearly exclusive dependency on online solutions

The effect of prolonged oxygen therapy on the clinical course of the disease and diaphragm function in patients with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease and hypoxemic respiratory failure (three-year follow-up)

The objective: to determine the effect of prolonged oxygen therapy (POT) on changes in the clinical and functional status of patients with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) and severe hypoxemic chronic respiratory failure.Subjects and methods. 30 patients with COPD were examined during the period of remission of the disease, the average age was 64.8 ± 6.9 years. After the initial examination, patients were prescribed POT at home for 16 hours/day. As a basic therapy, all patients received a combined bronchodilator of long-acting indacaterol/glycopyrronium at a dose of 110/50 μg once a day in combination with beclomethasone dipropionate (BDP) at the dose of 200-400 μg/day. The patients were examined repeatedly 3 times with a 1-year interval. Clinical indicators, gas composition of arterial blood, results of spirometry and ultrasound examination of the diaphragm were evaluated.Results. Initially, disorders of the functional state of the diaphragm were detected in COPD patients with hypoxemia (decrease in the thickening fraction and relaxation rate). After the first year of using POT, an increase in the rates of contraction and relaxation of the diaphragm muscle under tidal respiration was observed. On the 2nd and 3rd year of using POT, it was noted that indicators of the functional state of the diaphragm stabilized. As a result of POT, the number of exacerbations went down and mortality in COPD patients with hypoxemia decreased. Against the background of basic therapy with indacaterol/glycopyrronium in combination with low doses of BDP, no adverse events were observed for the entire period of follow-up.Conclusions. POT in combination with a double long-acting bronchodilator and low-dose inhaled glucocorticosteroids in COPD patients with hypoxemic chronic respiratory failure helps to reduce dyspnea, the number of severe exacerbations, as well as improve pulmonary ventilation functions, blood gas content, and the diaphragm function during the first year of its use. Further, the indicators continued to stabilize