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We argue that crisis triggered by COVID-19 increased pre-existing vulnerabilities in what concerns to minorities’ access to basic and public social resources in receiving countries, taking the Portuguese reality as an example. Our conclusions are based on the investigation made under the scope of the PPEACE project (Public Policies and Reception of Foreign Citizens Project), which aims to contribute to scientific advance in public policies and to propose better-informed policy options for the reception of asylum seekers and refugees. Based on the results of 180 questionnaires applied from October 2020 to February 2021, to asylum seekers and refugees, public entities, and NGO representatives we confront migrants’ perceptions/experiences and service providers’ needs and views. Through their eyes we try to discuss the impact that the pandemic had on public policies for reception and integration, the obstacles upraised to guaranteeing the access of this vulnerable individuals to public resources, satisfaction of basic needs, and the most affected dimensions of their daily life. The results of our empirical study reveal that the perceptions of recipients and implementers of public policies in times of pandemic are two sides of the same mirror and differ considerably. Differences are substantial between receivers and givers but with no significant or fracturing discrepancies. In this sense, this methodologic exercise reinforces the importance of participatory processes for better understanding the impacts of public policies on vulnerable groups, on the access to fundamental rights and satisfaction of basic needs.

A global health emergency has been declared by the World Health Organization (WHO) as the SARS-CoV-2 outbreak spread across the world. Patients infected with SARS-CoV-2 are at risk for developing respiratory failure and requiring admission to critical care units. While providing optimal treatment for these patients, careful execution of infection control measures is necessary to prevent nosocomial transmission to other patients and to health workers providing care.1 In the operating room, these preparations involve multiple stakeholders and can present a significant challenge. Here we described the measures for the outbreak adopted by the anesthesia department of a private tertiary care level hospital in Porto. These include engineering controls such as: identification and preparation of an isolation operating rooms, administrative measures such as: modification of workflow and processes, introduction of personal protective equipment, and formulation of clinical guidelines for anaesthetic management. We discuss how the hierarchy of controls should be a framework to plan, the necessary measures during each phase of a pandemic, and review the evidence of the procedures taken. [...]

A global health emergency has been declared by the World Health Organization (WHO) as the SARS-CoV-2 outbreak spread across the world. Patients infected with SARS-CoV-2 are at risk for developing respiratory failure and requiring admission to critical care units. While providing optimal treatment for these patients, careful execution of infection control measures is necessary to prevent nosocomial transmission to other patients and to health workers providing care.1 In the operating room, these preparations involve multiple stakeholders and can present a significant challenge. Here we described the measures for the outbreak adopted by the anesthesia department of a private tertiary care level hospital in Porto. These include engineering controls such as: identification and preparation of an isolation operating rooms, administrative measures such as: modification of workflow and processes, introduction of personal protective equipment, and formulation of clinical guidelines for anaesthetic management. We discuss how the hierarchy of controls should be a framework to plan, the necessary measures during each phase of a pandemic, and review the evidence of the procedures taken. [...]

A high-performance liquid chromatography-UV methodology (lambda=230 nm) was developed and validated for the simultaneous determination of vincristine and doxorubicin in pharmaceutical preparations used in oncology. The chromatography was carried out on a C18 column using acetonitrile 90% in water-potassium hydrogenphosphate buffer 50 mM, pH 3.2+/-0.1 (32:68, v/v) as mobile phase at a flow rate of 1.5 mL/min. The method proved to be specific, exact, and accurate, in accordance with the ICH standards, presenting linearity in the 1-5 microg/mL and 5-100 microg/mL intervals, and detection (0.19x0.51 microg/mL) and quantification (0.63x1.7 microg/mL) limits for vincristine and doxorubicin, respectively.