AIM: This study aims to explore the prevalence rates of stigma and fear among people in Jordan during COVID-19 pandemic and to assess socio-demographic and personal factors contributing to the prevalence rates of fear and stigma among people in Jordan during COVID-19 pandemic. METHOD: Cross sectional descriptive design was utilized to attain the study aim. An anonymous online survey targeting people of Jordan was used and distributed to adults in Arabic language. The survey included a previously validated fear scale. Stigma was measured using developed instrument by authors. RESULTS: the prevalence of fear among study participants was 52%. In addition, the prevalence of stigma toward infected people and their contact was 64%. The predictors of stigma toward infected people with COVID-19 and their contact were income, living area, and downloaded application to trace COVID-19 cases. Moreover, the predictors of fear were income living area and downloaded application to trace COVID-19 cases (P≤ .001). CONCLUSION: More than 50% of the respondents were afraid from COVID-19 and 64 % had stigma toward infected people and their contact during the COVID-19 pandemic. The present study highlights the need for an intervention that provides psychological support to citizens during the pandemic.

https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/pdf/10.1111/ijcp.13899

Fear of COVID-19 and stigmatization towards infected people among Jordanian people.

The first matrix metalloproteinase (MMP) was discovered in 1962 from the tail of a tadpole by its ability to degrade collagen. As their name suggests, matrix metalloproteinases are proteases capable of remodeling the extracellular matrix. More recently, MMPs have been demonstrated to play numerous additional biologic roles in cell signaling, immune regulation, and transcriptional control, all of which are unrelated to the degradation of the extracellular matrix. In this review, we will present milestones and major discoveries of MMP research, including various clinical trials for the use of MMP inhibitors. We will discuss the reasons behind the failures of most MMP inhibitors for the treatment of cancer and inflammatory diseases. There are still misconceptions about the pathophysiological roles of MMPs and the best strategies to inhibit their detrimental functions. This review aims to discuss MMPs in preclinical models and human pathologies. We will discuss new biochemical tools to track their proteolytic activity in vivo and ex vivo, in addition to future pharmacological alternatives to inhibit their detrimental functions in diseases. Significance Statement Matrix metalloproteinases (MMPs) have been implicated in most inflammatory, autoimmune, cancers, and pathogen-mediated diseases. Initially overlooked, MMP contributions can be both beneficial and detrimental in disease progression and resolution. Thousands of MMP substrates have been suggested, and a few hundred have been validated. After more than 60 years of MMP research, there remain intriguing enigmas to solve regarding their biological functions in diseases.

Matrix Metalloproteinases: From Molecular Mechanisms to Physiology, Pathophysiology, and Pharmacology

Infectious diseases, including COVID-19, are crucial public health issues and may lead to considerable fear among the general public and stigmatization of, and discrimination against, specific populations. This meta-analysis aimed to estimate the pooled prevalence of stigma in infectious disease epidemics. We systematically searched PubMed, PsycINFO, Embase, MEDLINE, Web of Science, and Cochrane databases since inception to June 08, 2021, and reported the prevalence of stigma towards people with infectious diseases including SARS, H1N1, MERS, Zika, Ebola, and COVID-19. A total of 50 eligible articles were included that contributed 51 estimates of prevalence in 92722 participants. The overall pooled prevalence of stigma across all populations was 34% [95% CI: 28-40%], including enacted stigma (36% [95% CI: 28-44%]) and perceived stigma (31% [95% CI: 22-40%]). The prevalence of stigma in patients, community population, and health care workers, was 38% [95% CI: 12- 65%], 36% [95% CI: 28-45%], and 30% [95% CI: 20-40%], respectively. The prevalence of stigma in participants from low- and middle-income countries was 37% [95% CI: 29-45%], which is higher than that from high-income countries (27% [95% CI: 18-36%]) though this difference was not statistically significant. A similar trend of prevalence of stigma was also observed in individuals with lower education (47% [95% CI: 23-71%]) compared to higher education level (33% [95% CI: 23-4%]). These findings indicate that stigma is a significant public health concern, and effective and comprehensive interventions are needed to counteract the damaging effects of the infodemics during infectious disease epidemics, including COVID-19, and reduce infectious disease-related stigma.

/pdf/a-systematic-review-and-meta-analysis-on-the-prevalence-of-4qgbaxavth.pdf

A systematic review and meta-analysis on the prevalence of stigma in infectious diseases, including COVID-19: a call to action.

BACKGROUND: Nurses and midwives play a critical role in the provision of care and the optimization of health services resources worldwide, which is particularly relevant during the current COVID-19 pandemic. However, they can only provide quality services if their work environment provides adequate conditions to support them. Today the employment and working conditions of many nurses worldwide are precarious, and the current pandemic has prompted more visibility to the vulnerability to health-damaging factors of nurses' globally. This desk review explores how employment relations, and employment and working conditions may be negatively affecting the health of nurses in countries such as Brazil, Croatia, India, Ireland, Italy, Mexico, Nepal, Spain, and the United Kingdom. MAIN BODY: Nurses' health is influenced by the broader social, economic, and political system and the redistribution of power relations that creates new policies regarding the labour market and the welfare state. The vulnerability faced by nurses is heightened by gender inequalities, in addition to social class, ethnicity/race (and caste), age and migrant status, that are inequality axes that explain why nurses' workers, and often their families, are exposed to multiple risks and/or poorer health. Before the COVID-19 pandemic, informalization of nurses' employment and working conditions were unfair and harmed their health. During COVID-19 pandemic, there is evidence that the employment and working conditions of nurses are associated to poor physical and mental health. CONCLUSION: The protection of nurses' health is paramount. International and national enforceable standards are needed, along with economic and health policies designed to substantially improve employment and working conditions for nurses and work-life balance. More knowledge is needed to understand the pathways and mechanisms on how precariousness might affect nurses' health and monitor the progress towards nurses' health equity.

/pdf/employment-and-working-conditions-of-nurses-where-and-how-4dp195roaz.pdf

Employment and working conditions of nurses: where and how health inequalities have increased during the COVID-19 pandemic?

This article discusses the correlation between national policy characteristics and the success in “flattening the curve” of infection of the COVID-19 virus, which is a generally acknowledged measur...

The influence of national policy characteristics on COVID-19 containment policies: a comparative analysis

Matrix metalloproteinases (MMPs) are a family of zinc-dependent extracellular matrix (ECM) remodeling endopeptidases that have the capacity to degrade almost every component of the ECM. The degradation of the ECM is of great importance, since it is related to embryonic development and angiogenesis. It is also involved in cell repair and the remodeling of tissues. When the expression of MMPs is altered, it can generate the abnormal degradation of the ECM. This is the initial cause of the development of chronic degenerative diseases and vascular complications generated by diabetes. In addition, this process has an association with neurodegeneration and cancer progression. Within the ECM, the tissue inhibitors of MMPs (TIMPs) inhibit the proteolytic activity of MMPs. TIMPs are important regulators of ECM turnover, tissue remodeling, and cellular behavior. Therefore, TIMPs (similar to MMPs) modulate angiogenesis, cell proliferation, and apoptosis. An interruption in the balance between MMPs and TIMPs has been implicated in the pathophysiology and progression of several diseases. This review focuses on the participation of both MMPs (e.g., MMP-2 and MMP-9) and TIMPs (e.g., TIMP-1 and TIMP-3) in physiological processes and on how their abnormal regulation is associated with human diseases. The inclusion of current strategies and mechanisms of MMP inhibition in the development of new therapies targeting MMPs was also considered.

https://www.mdpi.com/1422-0067/21/24/9739/pdf

The Roles of Matrix Metalloproteinases and Their Inhibitors in Human Diseases.

Medically speaking we define a crisis as a sudden intensification of the symptoms of a disease (1) According to the Royal Spanish Academy, a crisis is defined as a profound change with important consequences in a process or situation or in the way in which these are appreciated (2) Historically, crisis are opportunities to question the status quo of entire societies; they are moments for reinventing ourselves and thus evolving toward, for example, a better system, a better organized, more tolerant, inclusive, and caring humanity

/pdf/the-coronavirus-disease-covid-19-challenge-in-mexico-a-2z3c9t82x0.pdf

Nadia Martinez-Avila

Papers

The Roles of Matrix Metalloproteinases and Their Inhibitors in Human Diseases.

The Coronavirus Disease (COVID-19) Challenge in Mexico: A Critical and Forced Reflection as Individuals and Society