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PUBMED | Sustainability science | 32837577 | The coronavirus pandemic as an analogy for future sustainability challenges. | The current coronavirus outbreak may provide an illustrative analogy for sustainability challenges, exemplifying how challenges such as climate change may become wicked problems demanding novel and drastic solution attempts. | Engler John-Oliver JO; Abson David J DJ; von Wehrden Henrik H | 2021-10-03 | pubmed24n1047.xml |
PUBMED | Cliometrica | 32837578 | Can pandemics affect educational attainment? Evidence from the polio epidemic of 1916. | We leverage the largest polio outbreak in US history, the 1916 polio epidemic, to study how epidemic-related school interruptions affect educational attainment. Using polio morbidity as a proxy for epidemic exposure, we find that children aged 10 and under, and school-aged children of legal working age with greater exposure to the epidemic experienced reduced educational attainment compared to their slightly older peers. These reductions in observed educational attainment persist even after accounting for the influenza epidemic of 1918. | Meyers Keith K; Thomasson Melissa A MA | 2021-10-03 | pubmed24n1047.xml |
PUBMED | ZDM : the international journal on mathematics education | 32837579 | Transformation of the mathematics classroom with the internet. | Growing use of the internet in educational contexts has been prominent in recent years. In this survey paper, we describe how the internet is transforming the mathematics classroom and mathematics teacher education. We use as references several reviews of use of the internet in mathematics education settings made in recent years to determine how the field has evolved. We identify three domains in which new approaches are being generated by mathematic educators: principles of design of new settings; social interaction and construction knowledge; and tools and resources. The papers in this issue reflect different perspectives developed in the last decade in these three domains, providing evidence of the advances in theoretical frameworks and support in the generation of new meanings for old constructs such as 'tool', 'resources' or 'learning setting'. We firstly highlight the different ways in which the use of digital technologies generates new ways of thinking about mathematics and the settings in which it is learnt, and how mathematics teacher educators frame the new initiatives of initial training and professional development. In this survey paper, we identify trends for future research regarding theoretical and methodological aspects, and recognise new opportunities requiring further engagement. | Engelbrecht Johann J; Llinares Salvador S; Borba Marcelo C MC | 2020-10-03 | pubmed24n1047.xml |
PUBMED | Cellular and molecular bioengineering | 32837581 | Naturally Derived Membrane Lipids Impact Nanoparticle-Based Messenger RNA Delivery. | INTRODUCTION: Lipid based nanoparticles (LNPs) are clinically successful vectors for hepatic delivery of nucleic acids. These systems are being developed for non-hepatic delivery of mRNA for the treatment of diseases like cystic fibrosis or retinal degeneration as well as infectious diseases. Localized delivery to the lungs requires aerosolization. We hypothesized that structural lipids within LNPs would provide features of integrity which can be tuned for attributes required for efficient hepatic and non-hepatic gene delivery. Herein, we explored whether naturally occurring lipids that originate from the cell membrane of plants and microorganisms enhance mRNA-based gene transfection in vitro and in vivo and whether they assist in maintaining mRNA activity after nebulization. METHODS: We substituted DSPC, a structural lipid used in a conventional LNP formulation, to a series of naturally occurring membrane lipids. We measured the effect of these membrane lipids on size, encapsulation efficiency and their impact on transfection efficiency. We further characterized LNPs after nebulization and measured whether they retained their transfection efficiency. RESULTS: One plant-derived structural lipid, DGTS, led to a significant improvement in liver transfection of mRNA. DGTS LNPs had similar transfection ability when administered in the nasal cavity to conventional LNPs. In contrast, we found that DGTS LNPs had reduced transfection efficiency in cells pre-and post-nebulization while maintaining size and encapsulation similar to DSPC LNPs. CONCLUSIONS: We found that structural lipids provide differential mRNA-based activities in vitro and in vivo which also depend on the mode of administration. Understanding influence of structural lipids on nanoparticle morphology and structure can lead to engineering potent materials for mRNA-based gene therapy applications. | Kim Jeonghwan J; Jozic Antony A; Sahay Gaurav G | 2020-10-03 | pubmed24n1047.xml |
PUBMED | Cellular and molecular bioengineering | 32837582 | Emerging Technologies for Use in the Study, Diagnosis, and Treatment of Patients with COVID-19. | INTRODUCTION: The COVID-19 pandemic has caused an unprecedented health and economic worldwide crisis. Innovative solutions are imperative given limited resources and immediate need for medical supplies, healthcare support and treatments. AIM: The purpose of this review is to summarize emerging technologies being implemented in the study, diagnosis, and treatment of COVID-19. RESULTS: Key focus areas include the applications of artificial intelligence, the use of Big Data and Internet of Things, the importance of mathematical modeling for predictions, utilization of technology for community screening, the use of nanotechnology for treatment and vaccine development, the utility of telemedicine, the implementation of 3D-printing to manage new demands and the potential of robotics. CONCLUSION: The review concludes by highlighting the need for collaboration in the scientific community with open sharing of knowledge, tools, and expertise. | Tsikala Vafea Maria M; Atalla Eleftheria E; Georgakas Joanna J; Shehadeh Fadi F; Mylona Evangelia K EK; Kalligeros Markos M; Mylonakis Eleftherios E | 2020-08-03 | pubmed24n1047.xml |
PUBMED | Cellular and molecular bioengineering | 32837583 | The Impact of COVID-19 on Cancer Risk and Treatment. | Millions of people are being infected with COVID-19 around the globe. Though the majority of them will recover, cancer patients remain at a higher risk to SARS-CoV-2 infection and its related severe outcomes. Understanding how viruses contribute to human cancers provides us with new opportunities for preventing or treating virus-associated cancers. However, a limited amount of research has been done to date in the context of how viral infections impact cancer at the cellular level and vice versa. Therefore, in light of the COVID-19 global infection, this review highlights the need for better understanding of the biology of viral infections in cancer patients, to enable novel therapies to co-target viral infections and cancer. | Jyotsana Nidhi N; King Michael R MR | 2020-08-03 | pubmed24n1047.xml |
PUBMED | Cellular and molecular bioengineering | 32837584 | Animal Models to Study Emerging Technologies Against SARS-CoV-2. | New technologies are being developed toward the novel coronavirus SARS-CoV-2 to understand its pathogenesis and transmission, to develop therapeutics and vaccines, and to formulate preventive strategies. Animal models are indispensable to understand these processes and develop and test emerging technologies; however, the mechanism of infection for SARS-CoV-2 requires certain similarities to humans that do not exist in common laboratory rodents. Here, we review important elements of viral infection, transmission, and clinical presentation reflected by various animal models readily available or being developed and studied for SARS-CoV-2 to help bioengineers evaluate appropriate preclinical models for their emerging technologies. Importantly, applications of traditional mice and rat models are limited for studying SARS-CoV-2 and development of COVID-19. Non-human primates, Syrian hamsters, ferrets, cats, and engineered chimeras mimic the human infection more closely and hold strong potential as animal models of SARS-CoV-2 infection and progression of resulting human disease. | Mullick Jhinuk Basu JB; Simmons Chelsey S CS; Gaire Janak J | 2020-08-03 | pubmed24n1047.xml |
PUBMED | Cellular and molecular bioengineering | 32837586 | Design of a Microfluidic Bleeding Chip to Evaluate Antithrombotic Agents for Use in COVID-19 Patients. | INTRODUCTION: Interventions that could prevent thrombosis, clinical decompensation, and respiratory compromise in patients with novel coronavirus disease (COVID-19) are key to decrease mortality rate. Studies show that profound cytokine release and excessive activation of blood coagulation appear to be key drivers of COVID-19 associated mortality. Since limited in vitro methods exist for assessing the effects of anticoagulants on hemostasis, the development of novel therapies to safely prevent thrombosis in COVID-19 patients relies on preclinical animal models and early phase human trials. Herein we present the design of a microfluidic "bleeding chip" to evaluate the effects of antithrombotic therapies on hemostatic plug formation in vitro. METHODS: The design of the microfluidic device consists of two orthogonal channels: an inlet that serves as a model blood vessel, and a bleeding channel to model hemostatic plug formation at sites of compromised endothelial barrier function. This is achieved by placing a series of 3 pillars spaced 10 μm apart at the intersection of the two channels. The pillars and bleeding channel are coated with the extracellular matrix protein collagen. RESULTS: Perfusion of human whole blood through the microfluidic bleeding chip led to initial platelet adhesion and aggregation at the pillars followed by hemostatic plug formation and occlusion of the bleeding channel. CONCLUSIONS: Safe and effective mitigating agents are needed for treatment and prevention of thrombotic complications in COVID-19 patients. This simple microfluidic device holds potential to be developed into a tool for assessing the effects of anticoagulant therapy on hemostasis. | Lakshmanan Hari Hara Sudhan HHS; Pore Adity A AA; Kohs Tia C L TCL; Yazar Feyza F; Thompson Rachel M RM; Jurney Patrick L PL; Maddala Jeevan J; Olson Sven R SR; Shatzel Joseph J JJ; Vanapalli Siva A SA; McCarty Owen J T OJT | 2020-08-03 | pubmed24n1047.xml |
PUBMED | Cellular and molecular bioengineering | 32837587 | Scalable COVID-19 Detection Enabled by Lab-on-Chip Biosensors. | Introduction: The emergence of a novel coronavirus, SARS-CoV-2, has highlighted the need for rapid, accurate, and point-of-care diagnostic testing. As of now, there is not enough testing capacity in the world to meet the stated testing targets, which are expected to skyrocket globally for broader testing during reopening. Aim: This review focuses on the development of lab-on-chip biosensing platforms for diagnosis of COVID-19 infection. Results: We discuss advantages of utilizing lab-on-chip technologies in response to the current global pandemic, including their potential for low-cost, rapid sample-to-answer processing times, and ease of integration into a range of healthcare settings. We then highlight the development of magnetic, colorimetric, plasmonic, electrical, and lateral flow-based lab-on-chip technologies for the detection of SARS-CoV-2, in addition to other viruses. We focus on rapid, point-of-care technologies that can be deployed at scale, as such devices could be promising alternatives to the current gold standard of reverse transcription-polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR) diagnostic testing. Conclusion: This review is intended to provide an overview of the current state-of-the-field and serve as a resource for innovative development of new lab-on-chip assays for COVID-19 detection. | Tymm Carly C; Zhou Junhu J; Tadimety Amogha A; Burklund Alison A; Zhang John X J JXJ | 2020-08-03 | pubmed24n1047.xml |
PUBMED | Journal of infrared, millimeter and terahertz waves | 32837589 | Characterization of the Observed Electric Field and Molecular Relaxation Times for Millimeter-Wave Chirped Pulse Instrumentation. | In a chirped pulse experiment, the strength of the signal level is proportional to the amplitude of the electric field, which is weaker in the millimeter-wave or submillimeter-wave region than in the microwave region. Experiments in the millimeter region thus require an optimization of the coupling between the source and the molecular system and a method to estimate the amplitude of the electric field as seen by the molecular system. We have developed an analytical model capable of reproducing the coherent transient signals obtained with a millimeter-wave chirped pulse setup operated in a monochromatic pulse mode. The fit of the model against the experimental data allowed access to the amplitude of the electric field and, as a byproduct, to the molecular relaxation times T 1 and T 2. | Dhont G G; Fontanari D D; Bray C C; Mouret G G; Cuisset A A; Hindle F F; Hickson K M KM; Bocquet R R | 2020-10-03 | pubmed24n1047.xml |
PUBMED | Cellular and molecular bioengineering | 32837585 | Significant Unresolved Questions and Opportunities for Bioengineering in Understanding and Treating COVID-19 Disease Progression. | COVID-19 is a disease that manifests itself in a multitude of ways across a wide range of tissues. Many factors are involved, and though impressive strides have been made in studying this novel disease in a very short time, there is still a great deal that is unknown about how the virus functions. Clinical data has been crucial for providing information on COVID-19 progression and determining risk factors. However, the mechanisms leading to the multi-tissue pathology are yet to be fully established. Although insights from SARS-CoV-1 and MERS-CoV have been valuable, it is clear that SARS-CoV-2 is different and merits its own extensive studies. In this review, we highlight unresolved questions surrounding this virus including the temporal immune dynamics, infection of non-pulmonary tissue, early life exposure, and the role of circadian rhythms. Risk factors such as sex and exposure to pollutants are also explored followed by a discussion of ways in which bioengineering approaches can be employed to help understand COVID-19. The use of sophisticated in vitro models can be employed to interrogate intercellular interactions and also to tease apart effects of the virus itself from the resulting immune response. Additionally, spatiotemporal information can be gleaned from these models to learn more about the dynamics of the virus and COVID-19 progression. Application of advanced tissue and organ system models into COVID-19 research can result in more nuanced insight into the mechanisms underlying this condition and elucidate strategies to combat its effects. | Shirazi Jasmine J; Donzanti Michael J MJ; Nelson Katherine M KM; Zurakowski Ryan R; Fromen Catherine A CA; Gleghorn Jason P JP | 2020-08-03 | pubmed24n1047.xml |
PUBMED | Cognitive computation | 32837591 | Social Group Optimization-Assisted Kapur's Entropy and Morphological Segmentation for Automated Detection of COVID-19 Infection from Computed Tomography Images. | The coronavirus disease (COVID-19) caused by a novel coronavirus, SARS-CoV-2, has been declared a global pandemic. Due to its infection rate and severity, it has emerged as one of the major global threats of the current generation. To support the current combat against the disease, this research aims to propose a machine learning-based pipeline to detect COVID-19 infection using lung computed tomography scan images (CTI). This implemented pipeline consists of a number of sub-procedures ranging from segmenting the COVID-19 infection to classifying the segmented regions. The initial part of the pipeline implements the segmentation of the COVID-19-affected CTI using social group optimization-based Kapur's entropy thresholding, followed by k-means clustering and morphology-based segmentation. The next part of the pipeline implements feature extraction, selection, and fusion to classify the infection. Principle component analysis-based serial fusion technique is used in fusing the features and the fused feature vector is then employed to train, test, and validate four different classifiers namely Random Forest, K-Nearest Neighbors (KNN), Support Vector Machine with Radial Basis Function, and Decision Tree. Experimental results using benchmark datasets show a high accuracy (> 91%) for the morphology-based segmentation task; for the classification task, the KNN offers the highest accuracy among the compared classifiers (> 87%). However, this should be noted that this method still awaits clinical validation, and therefore should not be used to clinically diagnose ongoing COVID-19 infection. | Dey Nilanjan N; Rajinikanth V V; Fong Simon James SJ; Kaiser M Shamim MS; Mahmud Mufti M | 2020-10-03 | pubmed24n1047.xml |
PUBMED | Journal of ambient intelligence and humanized computing | 32837593 | Integrating machine learning and open data into social Chatbot for filtering information rumor. | Social networks have become a major platform for people to disseminate information, which can include negative rumors. In recent years, rumors on social networks has caused grave problems and considerable damages. We attempted to create a method to verify information from numerous social media messages. We propose a general architecture that integrates machine learning and open data with a Chatbot and is based cloud computing (MLODCCC), which can assist users in evaluating information authenticity on social platforms. The proposed MLODCCC architecture consists of six integrated modules: cloud computing, machine learning, data preparation, open data, chatbot, and intelligent social application modules. Food safety has garnered worldwide attention. Consequently, we used the proposed MLODCCC architecture to develop a Food Safety Information Platform (FSIP) that provides a friendly hyperlink and chatbot interface on Facebook to identify credible food safety information. The performance and accuracy of three binary classification algorithms, namely the decision tree, logistic regression, and support vector machine algorithms, operating in different cloud computing environments were compared. The binary classification accuracy was 0.769, which indicates that the proposed approach accurately classifies using the developed FSIP. | Hsu I-Ching IC; Chang Chun-Cheng CC | 2021-10-03 | pubmed24n1047.xml |
PUBMED | Journal of ambient intelligence and humanized computing | 32837594 | Graph based feature extraction and hybrid classification approach for facial expression recognition. | In the current trends, face recognition has a remarkable attraction towards favorable and inquiry of an image. Several algorithms are utilized for recognizing the facial expressions, but they lack in the issues like inaccurate recognition of facial expression. To overcome these issues, a Graph-based Feature Extraction and Hybrid Classification Approach (GFE-HCA) is proposed for recognizing the facial expressions. The main motive of this work is to recognize human emotions in an effective manner. Initially, the face image is identified using the Viola-Jones algorithm. Subsequently, the facial parts such as right eye, left eye, nose and mouth are extracted from the detected facial image. The edge-based invariant transform feature is utilized to extract the features from the extracted facial parts. From this edge-based invariant features, the dimensions are optimized using Weighted Visibility Graph which produces the graph-based features. Also, the shape appearance-based features from the facial parts are extracted. From these extracted features, facial expressions are recognized and classified using a Self-Organizing Map based Neural Network Classifier. The performance of this GFE-HCA approach is evaluated and compared with the existing techniques, and the superiority of the proposed approach is proved with its increased recognition rate. | Krithika L B LB; Priya G G Lakshmi GGL | 2021-10-03 | pubmed24n1047.xml |
PUBMED | Journal of ambient intelligence and humanized computing | 32837595 | Activity recognition in a smart home using local feature weighting and variants of nearest-neighbors classifiers. | Recognition of activities, such as preparing meal or watching TV, performed by a smart home resident, can promote the independent living of elderly in a safe and comfortable environment of their own homes, for an extended period of time. Different activities performed at the same location have commonalities resulting in less inter-class variations; while the same activity performed multiple times, or by multiple residents, varies in its execution resulting in high intra-class variations. We propose a Local Feature Weighting approach (LFW) that assigns weights based on both inter-class and intra-class importance of a feature in an activity. Multiple sensors are deployed at different locations in a smart home to gather information. We exploit the obtained information, such as frequency and duration of activation of sensors, and the total sensors in an activity for feature weighting. The weights for the same features vary among activities, since a feature may have more importance for one activity but less for the other. For the classification, we exploit the two variants of K-Nearest Neighbors (KNN): Evidence Theoretic KNN (ETKNN) and Fuzzy KNN (FKNN). The evaluation of the proposed approach on three datasets, from CASAS smart home project, demonstrates its ability in the correct recognition of activities compared to the existing approaches. | Fahad Labiba Gillani LG; Tahir Syed Fahad SF | 2021-10-03 | pubmed24n1047.xml |
PUBMED | Journal of ambient intelligence and humanized computing | 32837596 | Multi-modality medical image fusion technique using multi-objective differential evolution based deep neural networks. | The advancements in automated diagnostic tools allow researchers to obtain more and more information from medical images. Recently, to obtain more informative medical images, multi-modality images have been used. These images have significantly more information as compared to traditional medical images. However, the construction of multi-modality images is not an easy task. The proposed approach, initially, decomposes the image into sub-bands using a non-subsampled contourlet transform (NSCT) domain. Thereafter, an extreme version of the Inception (Xception) is used for feature extraction of the source images. The multi-objective differential evolution is used to select the optimal features. Thereafter, the coefficient of determination and the energy loss based fusion functions are used to obtain the fused coefficients. Finally, the fused image is computed by applying the inverse NSCT. Extensive experimental results show that the proposed approach outperforms the competitive multi-modality image fusion approaches. | Kaur Manjit M; Singh Dilbag D | 2021-10-03 | pubmed24n1047.xml |
PUBMED | Sexuality research & social policy : journal of NSRC : SR & SP | 32837600 | Who Takes Part in the Political Game? The Sex Work Governance Debate in Israel. | INTRODUCTION: This study explores the recent neo-abolitionist legislation of the Israeli sex industry by illustrating the competing claims of various stakeholders: those leading the legal change and those protesting it. The main question is how Israeli sex workers perceive the public debate over governing the Israeli sex industry. METHODS: This study combines qualitative methods that include ethnographic observations and interviews. The ethnographic observations were carried out between November 2018 and October 2019 in gatherings, protests, and academic conferences where sex workers were the lead speakers. In addition, 16 in-depth semi-structured interviews were conducted with sex workers across various indoor sectors, and four interviews were conducted with political figures to learn about their efforts to adopt neo-abolitionist legislation. RESULTS: the Israeli legislative proceedings initiated in 2007 deny sex workers a voice and exclude them from the political space and policy debates that have a direct bearing on their working lives and wellbeing. Thus, Israeli sex workers perceive sex work governance as controlling their agency and deepening their stigmatization. In this process, we show how contrasting groups became strange bedfellows in their attempt to protect sex workers by incriminating clients of the sex industry. CONCLUSIONS: We conclude that the binary framings of debates about sex work in Israel do not address the actual needs or political desires of sex workers who are ignored and excluded from the discourse about them. POLICY IMPLICATIONS: Furthermore, we conclude that the issue at hand is not about permitting sex workers to express their views but rather about the need to listen to their critiques to ensure that policy is built on their knowledge and experience. | Levy-Aronovic Stephanie S; Lahav-Raz Yeela Y; Raz Aviad A | 2021-10-03 | pubmed24n1047.xml |
PUBMED | Wiener klinisches Magazin : Beilage zur Wiener klinischen Wochenschrift | 32837601 | in COVID-19 Patients]. | The pandemic from the SARS-CoV‐2 Virus is currently challenging health care systems all over the world. Maintaining appropriate staffing and resources in healthcare facilities is essential to guarantee a safe work environment for healthcare personnel and safe patient care. Extracorporeal membrane oxygenation (ECMO) represents a valuable therapeutic option in patients with severe heart or lung failure. Although only a limited proportion of COVID-19 patients develops respiratory or circulatory failure that is refractory to conventional therapies, it is of utmost importance to clearly define criteria for the use of ECMOs in this steadily growing patient population. The ECMO working group of the Medical University of Vienna has established the following recommendations for ECMO support in COVID-19 patients. | Wiedemann Dominik D; Bernardi Martin H MH; Distelmaier Klaus K; Goliasch Georg G; Hengstenberg Christian C; Hermann Alexander A; Holzer Michael M; Hoetzenecker Konrad K; Klepetko Walter W; Lang György G; Lassnigg Andrea A; Laufer Günther G; Magnet Ingrid A M IAM; Markstaller Klaus K; Röggla Martin M; Rössler Bernhard B; Schellongowski Peter P; Simon Paul P; Tschernko Edda E; Ullrich Roman R; Zimpfer Daniel D; Staudinger Thomas T | 2020-10-03 | pubmed24n1047.xml |
PUBMED | SERIEs : journal of the Spanish Economic Association | 32837602 | Job loss at home: children's school performance during the Great Recession. | This paper studies the intergenerational impact of parental job loss on school performance during the Great Recession in Spain. Collecting data through parental surveys in a school in the province of Barcelona, I obtain information about the parental labour market status before and after the Great Recession. I can then link this information to repeated information on their children's school performance, for a sample of over 300 students. Using individual fixed effects, the estimates show a negative and significant decrease on average grades of around 15% of a standard deviation after father's job loss. These results are mainly driven by those students whose fathers suffer long unemployment spells. In contrast, the average impact of mother's job loss on school performance is close to zero and non-significant. The decline in school performance during the Great Recession after father's job loss, particularly among disadvantaged students, could result in detrimental long-term effects that might contribute to increased inequality. This could be an important and underemphasised cost of recessions. | Ruiz-Valenzuela Jenifer J | 2020-10-03 | pubmed24n1047.xml |
PUBMED | Asian journal of criminology | 32837603 | Evaluating the Control of Money Laundering and Its Underlying Offences: the Search for Meaningful Data. | This article examines the political and criminological history of anti-money controls, including the involvement of Asian countries and the varied motivations and interests engaged. It goes on to review where empirical evidence has been used and can be used in fighting the financial components of underlying crimes, examining the denotation of the problem(s) we are supposed to be fighting-money laundering as an evil in itself and/or the underlying crimes which give rise to it; estimates of the size and harmfulness of the problems and identifies any improvements/emerging problems in the assessment of money laundering. It concludes with some reflections on assessing policy effectiveness and the need for greater engagement by criminologists and other social scientists in this process. | Levi Michael M | 2020-10-03 | pubmed24n1047.xml |
PUBMED | Applied research in quality of life | 32837605 | Do Quarantine Experiences and Attitudes Towards COVID-19 Affect the Distribution of Mental Health in China? A Quantile Regression Analysis. | While quarantine has become a widely used control strategy during the outbreak of the 2019 novel coronavirus disease (COVID-19), empirical research on whether and to what extent quarantine and attitudes towards COVID-19 affect mental health is scant. Using a cross-sectional online survey, this paper is the first from the Chinese outbreak to investigate how quarantine experiences and attitudes towards COVID-19 are related to mental health, and how these relationships change across the distribution of mental health scores. Using quantile regression analysis, we found that home self-quarantine is associated with a decrease in depression and an increase in happiness, while community-level quarantine is associated with decreased happiness, especially for those in the lower happiness quantile. We also found that favorable attitudes towards COVID-19 regarding the credibility of real-time updates and confidence in the epidemic control are associated with lower levels of depression and higher levels of happiness. These effects are stronger in the upper quantile of depression and the median quantile of happiness. | Lu Haiyang H; Nie Peng P; Qian Long L | 2021-10-03 | pubmed24n1047.xml |
PUBMED | Journal of pharmaceutical innovation | 32837607 | Microneedle Array: Applications, Recent Advances, and Clinical Pertinence in Transdermal Drug Delivery. | Drug delivery through the skin by transdermal patches has a long history. Subsequent growth of transdermal science proved prominent utility of transdermal systems meant for passive diffusion of the drug. It was followed by the development of iontophoresis- and sonophoresis-based transdermal delivery systems. Microneedle array has now caught attention of the investigators owing to its immense utility in transdermal delivery of very large molecules with ionic and hydrophilic nature. In this technical note, we present the current scenario, applications, and recent advances in microneedle array-based delivery of the most critical molecules through the skin. The application of microneedle has widely been investigated, and these technologies are being developed for the delivery of bio-therapeutics, bio-macromolecules, insulin, growth hormones, immunobiologicals, proteins, siRNA, and peptides. Potential of microneedles to transform the global transdermal market is highlighted in terms of the success rate of the microneedle technologies in clinical trials reaching to the global market. The arrival of the commercial microneedle-based products in the market is highly anticipated as they have potential to portray remarkable impact on clinical medicine in near future. | Halder Jitu J; Gupta Sudhanshu S; Kumari Rakhi R; Gupta Ghanshyam Das GD; Rai Vineet Kumar VK | 2021-10-03 | pubmed24n1047.xml |
PUBMED | Air quality, atmosphere, & health | 32837609 | COVID-19: air pollution remains low as people stay at home. | Coronavirus diseases 2019 and European Space Agency (ESA) released air pollution data for Asian and European countries to assess the significant changes in air quality. The main objective of the study is to compare the air quality data released by international agencies before and after the novel coronavirus pandemic. | Gautam Sneha S | 2020-10-03 | pubmed24n1047.xml |
PUBMED | Air quality, atmosphere, & health | 32837610 | Co-variance nexus between COVID-19 mortality, humidity, and air quality index in Wuhan, China: New insights from partial and multiple wavelet coherence. | The worldwide outbreak of COVID-19 disease has caused immense damage to our health and economic and social life. This research article helps to determine the impact of climate on the lethality of this disease. Air quality index and average humidity are selected from the family of climate variables, to determine its impact on the daily new cases of COVID-19-related deaths in Wuhan, China. We have used wavelet analysis (wavelet transform coherence (WTC), partial (PWC), and multiple wavelet coherence (MWC), due to its advantages over traditional time series methods, to study the co-movement nexus between our selected data series. Findings suggest a notable coherence between air quality index, humidity, and mortality in Wuhan during a recent outbreak. Humidity is negatively related to the COVID-19-related deaths, and bad air quality leads to an increase in this mortality. These findings are important for policymakers to save precious human lives by better understanding the interaction of the environment with the COVID-19 disease. | Fareed Zeeshan Z; Iqbal Najaf N; Shahzad Farrukh F; Shah Syed Ghulam Meran SGM; Zulfiqar Bushra B; Shahzad Khurram K; Hashmi Shujahat Haider SH; Shahzad Umar U | 2020-10-03 | pubmed24n1047.xml |
PUBMED | Air quality, atmosphere, & health | 32837612 | Has air quality improved in Ecuador during the COVID-19 pandemic? A parametric analysis. | Many governments around the world have enforced quarantine policies to control the spread of the new coronavirus (SARS-CoV-2). These policies have had positive and negative effects on the environment. For example, the concentrations of certain harmful pollutants have decreased in some countries. In contrast, the concentrations of other pollutants have increased. This research analyzes the effect of quarantine policies on air quality in Quito, Ecuador. Using a parametric approach, it was found that NO2 and PM2.5 concentrations have decreased significantly since the establishment of lockdown measures. However, O3 concentrations have increased considerably in 2020. | Zambrano-Monserrate Manuel A MA; Ruano María Alejandra MA | 2020-10-03 | pubmed24n1047.xml |
PUBMED | Air quality, atmosphere, & health | 32837611 | Valuation of air pollution externalities: comparative assessment of economic damage and emission reduction under COVID-19 lockdown. | Air pollution (AP) is one of the major causes of health risks as it leads to widespread morbidity and mortality each year. Its environmental impacts include acid rains, reduced visibility, but more importantly and significantly, it affects human health. The price tag of not managing AP is seen in the rise of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD), cardiovascular disease, and respiratory ailments like asthma and chronic bronchitis. But as the world battles the corona pandemic, COVID-19 lockdown has abruptly halted human activity, leading to a significant reduction in AP levels. The effect of this reduction is captured by reduced cases of morbidity and mortality associated with air pollution. The current study aims to monetarily quantify the decline in health impacts due to reduced AP levels under lockdown scenario, as against business as usual, for four cities-Delhi, London, Paris, and Wuhan. The exposure assessment with respect to pollutants like particulate matter (PM2.5 and PM10), NO2, and SO2 are evaluated. Value of statistical life (VSL), cost of illness (CoI), and per capita income (PCI) for disability-adjusted life years (DALY) are used to monetize the health impacts for the year 2019 and 2020, considering the respective period of COVID-19 lockdown of four cities. The preventive benefits related to reduced AP due to lockdown is evaluated in comparison to economic damage sustained by these four cities. This helps in understanding the magnitude of actual damage and brings out a more holistic picture of the damages related to lockdown. | Bherwani Hemant H; Nair Moorthy M; Musugu Kavya K; Gautam Sneha S; Gupta Ankit A; Kapley Atya A; Kumar Rakesh R | 2020-10-03 | pubmed24n1047.xml |
PUBMED | Air quality, atmosphere, & health | 32837613 | Impact of lockdown on air quality in India during COVID-19 pandemic. | First time in India, total lockdown was announced on 22 March 2020 to stop the spread of COVID-19 and the lockdown was extended for 21 days on 24 March 2020 in the first phase. During the total lockdown, most of the sources for poor air quality were stopped in India. In this paper, we present an analysis of air quality (particulate matter-PM2.5, Air Quality Index, and tropospheric NO2) over India using ground and satellite observations. A pronounced decline in PM2.5 and AQI (Air Quality Index) is observed over Delhi, Mumbai, Hyderabad, Kolkata, and Chennai and also a declining trend was observed in tropospheric NO2 concentration during the lockdown period in 2020 compared with the same period in the year 2019. During the total lockdown period, the air quality has improved significantly which provides an important information to the cities' administration to develop rules and regulations on how they can improve air quality. | Singh Ramesh P RP; Chauhan Akshansha A | 2020-10-03 | pubmed24n1047.xml |
PUBMED | Air quality, atmosphere, & health | 32837615 | How is COVID-19 affecting environmental pollution in US cities? Evidence from asymmetric Fourier causality test. | This paper aims to examine the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic on PM2.5 emissions in eight selected US cities with populations of more than 1 million. To this end, the study employs an asymmetric Fourier causality test for the period of January 15, 2020 to May 4, 2020. The outcomes indicate that positive shocks in COVID-19 deaths cause negative shocks in PM2.5 emissions for New York, San Diego, and San Jose. Moreover, in terms of cases, positive shocks in COVID-19 cause negative shocks in PM2.5 emissions for Los Angeles, Chicago, Phoenix, Philadelphia, San Antonio, and San Jose. Overall, the findings of the study highlight that the pandemic reduces environmental pressure in the largest cities of the USA. This implies that one of the rare positive effects of the virus is to reduce air pollution. Therefore, for a better environment, US citizens should review the impact of current production and consumption activities on anthropogenic environmental problems. | Pata Ugur Korkut UK | 2020-10-03 | pubmed24n1047.xml |
PUBMED | Air quality, atmosphere, & health | 32837614 | The impacts of COVID-19 measures on global environment and fertility rate: double coincidence. | The study aims to examine the effects of coronavirus disease-2019 (COVID-19) measures on global environment and fertility rate by using the data of 1980 to 2019. The results show that communicable diseases including COVID-19 measures decrease carbon emissions and increase the chances of fertility rates in an account of city-wide lockdown. The knowledge spillover substantially decreases carbon emissions, while high energy demand increases carbon emissions. Poverty incidence increases fertility rate in the short-run; however, in the long-run, the result only supported with vulnerable employment and food prices that lead to increase fertility rates worldwide. The study concludes that besides some high negative externalities associated with COVID-19 pandemic in the form of increasing death tolls and rising healthcare costs, the global world should have to know how to direct high mass carbon emissions and population growth through acceptance of preventive measures, which would be helpful to contain coronavirus pandemic at a global scale. | Anser Muhammad Khalid MK; Yousaf Zahid Z; Khan Muhammad Azhar MA; Voo Xuan Hinh XH; Nassani Abdelmohsen A AA; Alotaibi Saad M SM; Abro Muhammad Moinuddin Qazi MMQ; Zaman Khalid K | 2020-10-03 | pubmed24n1047.xml |
PUBMED | Air quality, atmosphere, & health | 32837616 | Epigrammatic study on the effect of lockdown amid Covid-19 pandemic on air quality of most polluted cities of Rajasthan (India). | Covid-19 pandemic has adversely affected all the aspects of life in adverse manner; however, a significant improvement has been observed in the air quality, due to restricted human activities amidst lockdown. Present study reports a comparison of air quality between the lockdown duration and before the lockdown duration in seven selected cities versus 25 March to 17 May 2020 (during lockdown period divided into three phases). In order to understand the variations in the level of pollutant accumulation amid the lockdown period, a trend analysis is performed for 24 h daily average data for five pollutants (PM2.5, PM10, NO2, SO2, and ozone). Fig. aGraphical abstract. | Sharma Madhuben M; Jain Sapna S; Lamba Bhawna Yadav BY | 2020-10-03 | pubmed24n1047.xml |
PUBMED | Air quality, atmosphere, & health | 32837617 | Applicability of machine learning in modeling of atmospheric particle pollution in Bangladesh. | Atmospheric particle pollution causes acute and chronic health effects. Predicting the concentrations of PM2.5 and PM10, therefore, is a prerequisite to avoid the consequences and mitigate the complications. This research utilized the machine learning (ML) models such as linear-support vector machine (L-SVM), medium Gaussian-support vector machine (M-SVM), Gaussian process regression (GPR), artificial neural network (ANN), random forest regression (RFR), and a time series model namely PROPHET. Atmospheric NOX, SO2, CO, and O3, along with meteorological variables from Dhaka, Chattogram, Rajshahi, and Sylhet for the period of 2013 to 2019, were utilized as exploratory variables. Results showed that the overall performance of GPR performed better particularly for Dhaka in predicting the concentration of both PM2.5 and PM10 while ANN performed best in case of Chattogram and Sylhet for predicting PM2.5. However, in terms of predicting PM10, M-SVM and RFR were selected respectively. Therefore, this study recommends utilizing "ensemble learning" models by combining several best models to advance application of ML in predicting pollutants' concentration in Bangladesh. | Shahriar Shihab Ahmad SA; Kayes Imrul I; Hasan Kamrul K; Salam Mohammed Abdus MA; Chowdhury Shawan S | 2020-10-03 | pubmed24n1047.xml |
PUBMED | Air quality, atmosphere, & health | 32837618 | Gauging the air quality of New York: a non-linear Nexus between COVID-19 and nitrogen dioxide emission. | The primary objective of the study is to analyse the relationship between COVID-19 and nitrogen dioxide in New York City during the global pandemic. Notably, the study has investigated the direct influence of lockdown circumstances (due to COVID-19) and plunge in the population of New York on its environmental contamination. The study utilized the Non-Linear Autoregressive Distributed Lag (NARDL) model to ascertain the asymmetric impact of COVID-19 on the environmental quality of the USA. The results reveal that lockdown has played a significant role in the environmental quality of the USA. Notably, an escalation in the registered cases of COVID-19 has a meaningful and indirect relationship with environmental pollution in the UAS. Besides, as the lockdown state goes normal, it results in an explosion in the environmental pollution in the USA. Also, deaths due to COVID-19 substantively improve the environmental quality in the short-term period as well as in the long-term period. | Sarfraz Muddassar M; Shehzad Khurram K; Farid Awais A | 2020-10-03 | pubmed24n1047.xml |
PUBMED | Air quality, atmosphere, & health | 32837619 | Comparative study on air quality status in Indian and Chinese cities before and during the COVID-19 lockdown period. | Amidst COVID-19 pandemic, extreme steps have been taken by countries globally. Lockdown enforcement has emerged as one of the mitigating measures to reduce the community spread of the virus. With a reduction in major anthropogenic activities, a visible improvement in air quality has been recorded in urban centres. Hazardous air quality in countries like India and China leads to high mortality rates from cardiovascular diseases. The present article deals with 6 megacities in India and 6 cities in Hubei province, China, where strict lockdown measures were imposed. The real-time concentration of PM2.5 and NO2 were recorded at different monitoring stations in the cities for 3 months, that is January, February, and March for China and February, March, and April for India. The concentration data is converted into AQI according to US EPA parameters and the monthly and weekly averages are calculated for all the cities. Cities in China and India after 1 week of lockdown recorded an average drop in AQIPM2.5 and AQINO2 of 11.32% and 48.61% and 20.21% and 59.26%, respectively. The results indicate that the drop in AQINO2 was instantaneous as compared with the gradual drop in AQIPM2.5. The lockdown in China and India led to a final drop in AQIPM2.5 of 45.25% and 64.65% and in AQINO2 of 37.42% and 65.80%, respectively. This study will assist the policymakers in devising a pathway to curb down air pollutant concentration in various urban cities by utilising the benchmark levels of air pollution. | Agarwal Aviral A; Kaushik Aman A; Kumar Sankalp S; Mishra Rajeev Kumar RK | 2020-10-03 | pubmed24n1047.xml |
PUBMED | Air quality, atmosphere, & health | 32837620 | A brief review of socio-economic and environmental impact of Covid-19. | In recent months, Covid-19 has caused significant global social and economic distress. Governments and health officials around the world have introduced mandatory preventive measures to combat Covid-19, that is, hand sanitizers, gloves, and masks, which have contributed to large quantities of medical wastes. Social distancing and mandatory lockdown have also been put in place to protect people from Covid-19. This epidemic has caused severe demographic changes and unemployment, and economic activities have been shut down to save human lives. Transportation and travel industries are most severely hit as global tourism has fallen to almost zero in recent months; as a solution, economic institutes have introduced stimulus packages worth more than $6 trillion. However, restricted economic activities have also contributed towards a cleaner environment. However, environmental changes are not permanent, and the pollution level may rise again in the future. As a result, current research suggests that policymakers must introduce stringent environmental policies to promote clean energy. | Bashir Muhammad Farhan MF; Ma Benjiang B; Shahzad Luqman L | 2020-10-03 | pubmed24n1047.xml |
PUBMED | Air quality, atmosphere, & health | 32837621 | Environmental pollution and COVID-19 outbreak: insights from Germany. | The impact of environmental pollutants and climate indicators on the outbreak of COVID-19 has gained considerable attention in the recent literature. However, specific investigation of industrial economies like Germany is not available. This provides us motivation to examine the association between environmental pollutants, climate indicators and the COVID-19 cases, recoveries, and deaths in Germany using daily data from February 24, 2020, to July 02, 2020. The correlation analysis and wavelet transform coherence (WTC) approach are the analytical tools, which are used to explore the association between variables included in the study. Our findings indicate that PM2.5, O3, and NO2 have a significant relationship with the outbreak of COVID-19. In addition, temperature is the only significant climate indicator which has significant correlation with the spread of COVID-19. Finally, PM10, humidity, and environmental quality index have a significant relationship only with the active cases from COVID-19 pandemic. Our findings conclude that Germany's successful response to COVID-19 is attributed to environmental legislation and the medical care system, which oversaw significant overhaul after the SARS and MERS outbreaks. The current study implicates that other industrial economies, especially European economies, that are still facing COVID-19 outbreak can follow the German model for pandemic response. | Bilal; Bashir Muhammad Farhan MF; Benghoul Maroua M; Numan Umar U; Shakoor Awais A; Komal Bushra B; Bashir Muhammad Adnan MA; Bashir Madiha M; Tan Duojiao D | 2020-10-03 | pubmed24n1047.xml |
PUBMED | Air quality, atmosphere, & health | 32837623 | The association between COVID-19 deaths and short-term ambient air pollution/meteorological condition exposure: a retrospective study from Wuhan, China. | The emergence of coronavirus disease 2019. Detailedly, PM2.5 was the only pollutant exhibiting a positive association (relative risk (RR) = 1.079, 95%CI 1.071-1.086, p < 0.01) with COVID-19 deaths. The PM10, SO2, and CO were all also significantly associated with COVID-19 deaths, but in negative pattern (p < 0.01). Among them, PM10 and CO had the highest and lowest RR, which equaled to 0.952 (95%CI 0.945-0.959) and 0.177 (95%CI 0.131-0.24), respectively. Additionally, temperature was inversely associated with COVID-19 deaths (RR = 0.861, 95%CI 0.851-0.872, p < 0.01). Contrarily, diurnal temperature range was positively associated with COVID-19 deaths (RR = 1.014, 95%CI 1.003-1.025, p < 0.05). The data suggested that PM2.5 and diurnal temperature range are tightly associated with increased COVID-19 deaths. | Jiang Ying Y; Xu Jing J | 2021-10-03 | pubmed24n1047.xml |
PUBMED | Air quality, atmosphere, & health | 32837622 | Fluctuations in environmental pollutants and air quality during the lockdown in the USA and China: two sides of COVID-19 pandemic. | The World Health Organization declared the outbreak of the novel coronavirus with and without the lockdown period in the majorly hit states and provinces of the USA and China, respectively. Data during the first quarter year of 2019 and 2020 (lockdown period) was used in this study. Moreover, the effect of these pollutants on the pandemic spread was also studied. The results illustrated that the overall concentrations of CO, NO2 and PM2.5 were decreased by 19.28%, 36.7% and 1.10%, respectively, while PM10 and SO2 were increased by 27.81% and 3.81% respectively in five selected states of the USA during the lockdown period. However, in the case of chosen provinces of China, overall, the concentrations of all selected pollutants, that is, CO, NO2, SO2, PM2.5 and PM10, were reduced by 26.53%, 38.98%, 18.36%, 17.78% and 37.85%, respectively. The COVID-19 reported cases and deaths were significantly correlated with NO2, PM2.5 and PM10 in both China and the USA. The findings of this study concluded that the limited anthropogenic activities in the lockdown situation due to this novel pandemic disease result in a significant improvement of air quality by reducing the concentrations of environmental pollutants. As the trend goes on, the reduction of most pollutant concentrations is expected as long as partial or complete lockdown goes on.Graphical abstract. | Shakoor Awais A; Chen Xiaoyong X; Farooq Taimoor Hassan TH; Shahzad Umer U; Ashraf Fatima F; Rehman Abdul A; Sahar Najam E NE; Yan Wende W | 2020-10-03 | pubmed24n1047.xml |
PUBMED | Educational assessment, evaluation and accountability | 32837626 | COVID-19 and schooling: evaluation, assessment and accountability in times of crises-reacting quickly to explore key issues for policy, practice and research with the school barometer. | The crisis caused by the COVID-19 virus has far-reaching effects in the field of education, as schools were closed in March 2020 in many countries around the world. In this article, we present and discuss the School Barometer, a fast survey (in terms of reaction time, time to answer and dissemination time) that was conducted in Germany, Austria and Switzerland during the early weeks of the school lockdown to assess and evaluate the current school situation caused by COVID-19. Later, the School Barometer was extended to an international survey, and some countries conducted the survey in their own languages. In Germany, Austria and Switzerland, 7116 persons participated in the German language version: 2222 parents, 2152 students, 1949 school staff, 655 school leaders, 58 school authority and 80 members of the school support system. The aim was to gather, analyse and present data in an exploratory way to inform policy, practice and further research. In this article, we present some exemplary first results and possible implications for policy, practice and research. Furthermore, we reflect on the strengths and limitations of the School Barometer and fast surveys as well as the methodological options for data collection and analysis when using a short monitoring survey approach. Specifically, we discuss the methodological challenges associated with survey data of this kind, including challenges related to hypothesis testing, the testing of causal effects and approaches to ensure reliability and validity. By doing this, we reflect on issues of assessment, evaluation and accountability in times of crisis. | Huber Stephan Gerhard SG; Helm Christoph C | 2020-10-03 | pubmed24n1047.xml |
PUBMED | Alter | 32837629 | Out on the streets - Crisis, opportunity and disabled people in the era of Covid-19: Reflections from the UK. | Governments have responded to the Covid-19 crisis through various measures designed to reduce transmission and protect people judged to be at heightened risk. This paper explores the implications of such measures in the UK for disabled people, with a particular focus on measures designed to reduce and reshape the use of streets and public space. We divide UK measures into two broad categories. First, there are measures designed to reduce the use of streets and public spaces - for example, rules requiring people to stay at home except in tightly prescribed circumstances and measures providing specific support (including food delivery and priority online shopping) for people designated as clinically extremely 'vulnerable'. Second, there are measures designed to control the behaviour of people using streets and public space - for example, rules on physical distancing and the use of face coverings. We explore the disability-related concerns associated with these types of measure. We also highlight the opportunities this crisis presents for embedding accessibility and inclusion more firmly into the fabric of our streets and call for renewed resistance to policies and practices shaped by ableist assumptions and attitudes. | Eskytė Ieva I; Lawson Anna A; Orchard Maria M; Andrews Elizabeth E | 2020-11-03 | pubmed24n1047.xml |
PUBMED | International journal of social robotics | 32837630 | Trust in and Ethical Design of Carebots: The Case for Ethics of Care. | The paper has two main objectives: to examine the challenges arising from the use of carebots as well as to discuss how the design of carebots can deal with these challenges. First, it notes that the use of carebots to take care of the physical and mental health of the elderly, children and the disabled as well as to serve as assistive tools and social companions encounter a few main challenges. They relate to the extent of the care robots' ability to care for humans, potential deception by robot morphology and communications, (over)reliance on or attachment to robots, and the risks of carebot use without informed consent and potential infringements of privacy. Secondly, these challenges impinge upon issues of ethics and trust which are somewhat overlapping in terms of concept and practice. The existing ethical guidelines, standards and regulations are general in nature and lack a central ethical framework and concrete principles applicable to the care contexts. Hence, to deal with these important challenges, it is proposed in the third part of the paper that carebots be designed by taking account of Ethics of Care as the central ethical framework. It argues that the Ethics of Care offer the following advantages: (a) it provides sufficiently concrete principles and embodies values that are sensitive and applicable to the design of carebots and the contexts of caring practices; (b) it coheres with the tenets of Principlism and select ethical theories (utilitarianism, deontology and virtue ethics); and (c) it is closely associated with the preservation and maintenance of trust. | Yew Gary Chan Kok GCK | 2021-10-03 | pubmed24n1047.xml |
PUBMED | International journal of social robotics | 32837631 | Telepresence Mobile Robots Design and Control for Social Interaction. | Human-robot interaction has extended its application horizon to simplify how human beings interact with each other through a remotely controlled telepresence robot. The fast growth of communication technologies such as 4G and 5G has elevated the potential to establish stable audio-video-data transmission. However, human-robot physical interactions are still challenging regarding maneuverability, controllability, stability, drive layout, and autonomy. Hence, this paper presents a systematic design and control approach based on the customer's needs and expectations of telepresence mobile robots for social interactions. A system model and controller design are developed using the Lagrangian method and linear quadratic regulator, respectively, for different scenarios such as flat surface, inclined surface, and yaw. The robot is advantageous in developing countries to fill the skill gaps as well as for sharing knowledge and expertise using a virtual and mobile physical presence. | Tuli Tadele Belay TB; Terefe Tesfaye Olana TO; Rashid Md Mamun Ur MMU | 2021-10-03 | pubmed24n1047.xml |
PUBMED | Child indicators research | 32837628 | Socio-Cultural Constraints in Protecting Child Rights in a Society in Transition: A Review and Synthesis from Oman. | In line with international best practice, the Arabian Gulf countries have ratified the Convention on the Right of the Child (CRC), which has some clauses on child abuse and neglect. The present discourse, made from within an Arabian Gulf society, specifically Oman, reviews the socio-cultural differences of the region and explores the potential regional challenges for effectively implementing the CRC mandated child protection legislation. The international best practices evolved for individualistic, "guilt-based" societies, which may need to be modified to suit the "shame-based" collective societies in the Arabian Gulf where the individual autonomy is overridden by that of the family and society. This may mean that the entire spectrum of child abuse may need to be studied in-depth, starting from what constitutes child abuse and neglect, the methods adopted for identifying cases, setting preventive measures in place, applying penal and corrective action on the perpetrators, and helping the victims recover. It is posited that while modifying the laws may be straightforward, implementation of certain clauses may initially come into conflict with deeply engrained socio-cultural conventions on these societies which have different parenting styles and child-rearing practices. The country in focus is Oman. Pointing out the sparsity of research on the topic in the region, the study suggests additional research to understand how to reconcile these sociocultural constraints with the international best practices of protecting child rights. | Al-Saadoon Muna M; Al-Adawi Manal M; Al-Adawi Samir S | 2021-10-03 | pubmed24n1047.xml |
PUBMED | Food security | 32837634 | Home gardening and urban agriculture for advancing food and nutritional security in response to the COVID-19 pandemic. | Despite a 2.3% increase in world cereal production in 2019 over 2018, the number of people facing severe food insecurity may double from 135 million in January 2020 to 265 million by the end of 2020. The problem of food and nutritional insecurity is severe in urban centers, where the global population is projected to increase will increase from 34 in 2015 to 41 by 2030. The COVID-19 pandemic has aggravated food insecurity in urban centers because of the disruption in the food supply chain, aggravation of the physical and economic barriers that restrict access to food, and the catastrophic increase in food waste because of labor shortages. Thus, there is a need to adopt more resilient food systems, reduce food waste, and strengthen local food production. Enhancing availability at the household and community levels through home gardening and urban agriculture is an important strategy. Food production within the cities include small land farming in households, local community gardens, indoor and rooftop gardens, vertical farming, etc. Home gardening can play an important role in advancing food and nutritional security during and after the COVD-19 pandemic, while also strengthening the provisioning of numerous ecosystem services (that is, plant biodiversity, microclimate, water runoff, water quality, human health). However, risks of soil contamination by heavy metals must be addressed. | Lal Rattan R | 2020-10-03 | pubmed24n1047.xml |
PUBMED | Food security | 32837636 | Assuring food security in Singapore, a small island state facing COVID-19. | Small island states have features in common which make it difficult for them to assure food security through self-production, notably limited land, fresh water and labour. As these island states grow economically, diet diversification by an increasingly affluent population demands a balance between food imports and self-production. Singapore, a wealthy, small island state has consistently been ranked high in food security in international comparisons, but only under conditions when trade is uninhibited and countries do not reduce food exports. The COVID-19 pandemic has shown vulnerabilities in the country's "Resilience" strategy to maintain food security through importing over 90% of its food needs from over 170 countries. Leading up to and during the pandemic, strategic policy initiatives were announced by the government and new measures were taken to increase the stability of imports, ramp up production from existing farms, increase self-production by 300% by 2030 through increasing the number of high technology urban vegetable and fish farms, and factory-cultured food, and reducing food waste. Singapore offers lessons for other small island states in ways to improve their food security. | Teng Paul P | 2020-10-03 | pubmed24n1047.xml |
PUBMED | Clinical simulation in nursing | 32837633 | Simulated Nursing Video Consultations: An Innovative Proposal During Covid-19 Confinement. | BACKGROUND: In response to the closure of universities and the canceling of in-person classes due to the COVID-19 pandemic, this study was designed to focus on a solution for adapting simulation-based education to this situation. METHOD: A mixed study was conducted to analyze nursing students' satisfaction and perceptions (n = 48) about simulated nursing video consultations. RESULTS: Nursing students expressed a high level of satisfaction and positive perceptions about this innovative proposal. CONCLUSIONS: Simulated nursing video consultations could be considered as another choice of high-fidelity simulation not only in the current COVID-19 situation, but its use could be extended to other contexts. | Jiménez-Rodríguez Diana D; Torres Navarro María Del Mar MDM; Plaza Del Pino Fernando Jesús FJ; Arrogante Oscar O | 2020-11-03 | pubmed24n1047.xml |
PUBMED | Food security | 32837635 | How Indian agriculture should change after COVID-19. | The COVID-19 crisis has exposed the vulnerability of India's Agri food system and accentuated the need for agricultural market reforms and digital solutions to connect farmers to markets, to create safety nets and ensure reasonable working conditions, and to decentralize Agri food systems to make them more resilient. | Kumar Anjani A; Padhee Arabinda K AK; Kumar Shalander S | 2020-10-03 | pubmed24n1047.xml |
PUBMED | Food security | 32837637 | Learning in times of lockdown: how Covid-19 is affecting education and food security in India. | A vast majority of the relief and rehabilitation packages announced in the months following the nationwide lockdown in India have focused on economic rehabilitation. However, the education sector has remained absent from this effort, including in India's central government's 250 billion dollar stimulus package. In this paper, we discuss the implications of lockdown-induced school and rural child-care center closures on education and health outcomes for the urban and rural poor. We especially focus on food and nutritional security of children who depend on school feeding and supplementary nutrition programs. We argue that the impacts are likely to be much more severe for girls as well as for children from already disadvantaged ethnic and caste groups. We also discuss ways in which existing social security programs can be leveraged and strengthened to ameliorate these impacts. | Alvi Muzna M; Gupta Manavi M | 2020-10-03 | pubmed24n1047.xml |
PUBMED | Food security | 32837638 | The impact of COVID-19 related 'stay-at-home' restrictions on food prices in Europe: findings from a preliminary analysis. | This study examines the impact of COVID-19 related 'stay-at-home' restrictions on food prices in 31 European countries. I combine the European Union's Harmonised Index of Consumer Prices (HICP) with the Stay-at-Home Restriction Index (SHRI) from the Oxford COVID-19 Government Response Tracker (OxCGRT) dataset for January-May 2020. The results of a series of difference-in-difference regression models reveal that the severity of stay-at-home restrictions increased overall food prices by 1% in March 2020, compared to January and February 2020. The price level for food continued to rise in the high stay-at-home restriction countries relative to thier counterpart in April but stabilised in May. The food categories that witnessed the most significant surges in prices were meat, fish & seafood, and vegetables. The prices of bread & cereals, fruits, milk, cheese & eggs and oils & fats were not significantly affected. The correlations between food prices and stay-at-home restrictions were significant after controlling for cross-country variations in COVID-19 affectedness and other mitigation and adaptation measures, such as international travel controls, road closures and the size of the economic stimulus packages. This study presents the first empirical evidence of food price inflation as an unintended consequence of COVID-19 pandemic containment measures in one of the most severely hit continents of the world. | Akter Sonia S | 2020-10-03 | pubmed24n1047.xml |
PUBMED | Food security | 32837639 | Wither the self-sufficiency illusion? Food security in Arab Gulf States and the impact of COVID-19. | Past approaches to food security in the countries of the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) were informed by concerns about food availability. They aimed at domestic self-sufficiency and self-sufficiency by proxy (via farmland investments abroad). These strategies have failed. Water scarcity at home increasingly compromises agricultural production. Farmland investments abroad have not matched ambitious related announcements due to a complex mixture of commercial, socio-economic and political factors. They do not contribute meaningful quantities to the Gulf countries' food imports. The failure of such strategies has prompted a shift of focus instead towards value chain management as a means to secure food availability. Rather than trying to fight food import dependence, the Gulf countries now accept and manage it. However, malnutrition that leads to high levels of obesity and diabetes constitutes a risk factor in the face of COVID-19. Food accessibility for vulnerable population segments such as migrant labour is another issue that requires yet further policy measures, such as safety nets - whose expansion would be politically controversial if not impossible, however. | Woertz Eckart E | 2020-10-03 | pubmed24n1047.xml |
PUBMED | Food security | 32837640 | Epidemics and food systems: what gets framed, gets done. | This brief article aims to interrogate some widely used concepts in framing the interactions between disease epidemics, food systems and nutrition, with a particular focus on the COVID-19 crisis. How should we conceptualize vulnerability in such situations - both with regard to viral exposure and to subsequent nutrition-relevant impacts of epidemics and responses (including lockdowns)? Is it possible to simultaneously pursue strategies aimed at strengthening resilience and driving transformation ('building back better')? What type of framing and conceptualization can help illuminate entry points and options for responding effectively to interacting crises? In addressing these questions, it's important to re-visit lessons from past attempts to address the impacts of epidemics on food and nutrition security. | Gillespie Stuart S | 2020-10-03 | pubmed24n1047.xml |
PUBMED | Food security | 32837641 | Fire lines as fault lines: increased trade barriers during the COVID-19 pandemic further shatter the global food system. | In this opinion piece, we highlight that trade barriers established during COVID-19 as "fire lines" to prevent cross-border transmission of the pandemic could become "fault lines" that demolish the global food system. We review restrictions on both international agricultural exports and imports, especially unilateral border controls such as import refusals and alerts, in previous epidemics and arising with two novel features amid COVID-19. Institutional causes to pervasive trade barriers in epidemics that are embedded in the WHO-WTO coordination scheme have been discussed. In the meantime, discussions on potential economic outcomes and policy recommendations have been provided. | Chen Kevin Z KZ; Mao Rui R | 2020-10-03 | pubmed24n1047.xml |
PUBMED | Food security | 32837643 | The COVID19 pandemic crisis and the relevance of a farm-system-for-nutrition approach. | The Covid19 pandemic should be seen as a wake-up call for humanity, to reflect, rethink and redesign food systems that are safe, healthy, sustainable, and beneficial to all. This crisis has disrupted food supply chains, affecting lives and livelihoods. Hunger and malnutrition is expected to increase and the poor and vulnerable will suffer the most. There is urgent need to build resilient food systems. A location specific farm-system-for-nutrition approach, based on sustainable use of natural resources and local agri-food value chains can help improve household diet diversity and address nutrition deficiencies. The food-based approach can improve preparedness and resilience of communities to withstand the challenge posed by crises in general, and COVID19 in particular. | Bhavani R V RV; Gopinath R R | 2020-10-03 | pubmed24n1047.xml |
PUBMED | Food security | 32837642 | Addressing the triple burden of malnutrition in the time of COVID-19 and climate change in Small Island Developing States: what role for improved local food production? | The impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic on food and nutrition insecurity are likely to be significant for Small Island Developing States due to their high dependence on foreign tourism, reliance on imported foods and underdeveloped local food production systems. SIDS are already experiencing high rates of nutrition-related death and disability, including double and triple burdens of malnutrition due to unhealthy diets. We consider the potential role for improved local food production to offset the severity of food system shocks in SIDS and identify the need for localized approaches to embrace systems thinking in order to facilitate communication, coordination and build resilience. | Hickey Gordon M GM; Unwin Nigel N | 2020-10-03 | pubmed24n1047.xml |
PUBMED | Food security | 32837644 | Food systems for resilient futures. | In this time of the pandemic, nothing is as it used to be. This change creates space for new narratives towards resilience. The resilience perspective implies preparing for shocks as well as various futures that might evolve. Thus, more sustainable food systems cannot only be built to be pandemic proof. This preparation can be facilitated by co-designing contrasting future narratives, identifying means for developing capacity to adapt to those futures and developing tools to enhance that capacity, such as demonstrated here. The capacity of food systems to adapt and transform is enhanced by dialogue, transparency and collective learning in food value chains and networks, sovereignty over resources, and built-in diversity in response to change. In market-led global food chains, supplier-buyer diversity is important, while in public-led regions with some market protection, farm and crop diversity might matter more in response to variability in weather, price and policies. During, for example, an international conflict, or the time of a pandemic, diverse food sourcing from local producer-consumer cooperatives to community-supported and urban agriculture could secure food for citizens. Assessments of critical diversity in response to shocks and volatility can help actors to tailor effective diversity to manage resilience while avoiding the long-feared trade-off between diversity and resource-use efficiency. The interdependence of humanity deserves attention, as food systems are only as resilient as their weakest actor. A truly resilient global food system implies not only preparedness for coming shocks and changes but also a foundation that makes shocks less probable and critical. | Kahiluoto Helena H | 2020-10-03 | pubmed24n1047.xml |
PUBMED | Food security | 32837645 | Pandemics and food systems - towards a proactive food safety approach to disease prevention & management. | Recent large-scale pandemics such as the covid19, H1N1, Swine flu, Ebola and the Nipah virus, which impacted human health and livelihoods, have come about due to inadequate food systems safeguards to detect, trace and eliminate threats arising from zoonotic diseases. Such diseases are transmitted to humans through their interaction with animals in the food value chain including through the consumption of bush meat. Climate change has also facilitated the emergence of new zoonotic diseases. The lack of adequately enforced food-safety standards in managed agricultural production systems creates the necessary conditions for diseases to mutate into highly contagious strains. The lack of food safety measures in handling, packaging and sales of food increases risks of cross-species contamination. Finally, increasing anti-microbial resistance, combined with rapid urbanization and global interconnectedness allows diseases to spread rapidly among humans. Thus, part of the reconstruction efforts, post covid19, should include prioritizing proactive investments in food safety. The key to stave off another such pandemic lies in integrating one-health knowledge on zoonotic diseases along with food safety measures along the food value chain. Refocusing policy priorities from disease control to prevention will improve international coordination efforts in pandemic prevention. Implementing such proactive actions will cost a very small fraction of the reconstruction budgets. However, the expected benefits of the food-safety approach will include preventing global economic losses due to pandemics. | Aiyar Anaka A; Pingali Prabhu P | 2020-10-03 | pubmed24n1047.xml |
PUBMED | Food security | 32837646 | Resilience of local food systems and links to food security - A review of some important concepts in the context of COVID-19 and other shocks. | The objective of this review is to explore and discuss the concept of local food system resilience in light of the disruptions brought to those systems by the 2020 COVID-19 pandemic. The discussion, which focuses on low and middle income countries, considers also the other shocks and stressors that generally affect local food systems and their actors in those countries to respond more appropriately to adverse events affecting food systems in the future. | Béné Christophe C | 2020-10-03 | pubmed24n1047.xml |
PUBMED | Food security | 32837647 | COVID-19 in the Greater Mekong Subregion: how resilient are rural households? | In this paper we submit some thoughts on the possible implications of the COVID-19 pandemic for rural people in the countries of the Greater Mekong Subregion (GMS). We base our observations and conclusions on our long-term research experience in the region. The paper focuses on the economics of rural households during this crisis period and its aftermath. We conclude that country differences clearly exist due to their different stages of development. However, while rural households belong to the Corona risk groups, they are also resilient to such a shock. We submit that Governments in the GMS should strengthen policies that conserve the safety-net function of rural villages. | Waibel Hermann H; Grote Ulrike U; Min Shi S; Nguyen Trung Thanh TT; Praneetvatakul Suwanna S | 2020-10-03 | pubmed24n1047.xml |
PUBMED | Food security | 32837648 | Feeding the food insecure in Britain: learning from the 2020 COVID-19 crisis. | The lockdown in Britain has rendered a large proportion of the population economically vulnerable and has at least quadrupled demand for emergency food relief. This paper looks critically at response to the crisis from the government and the voluntary sector with respect to provision of emergency food. In doing so, it has exposed gaps in understanding of the vagaries of the food supply for certain population groups and systemic weaknesses in the current system of emergency food aid. We make recommendations for healthier governmental capacity to react to a food security crisis, better relationships between the government and the voluntary sector, and further research into the dietary constraints of the precariate. Importantly, the social system needs to be responsive to short-term changes in people's income if people are not to fall into food insecurity. | Barker Margo M; Russell Jean J | 2020-10-03 | pubmed24n1047.xml |
PUBMED | Food security | 32837649 | COVID-19 and the food system: setback or opportunity for gender equality? | Agriculture and the food sector are critical to food and nutrition security because they not only produce food but also contribute to economic empowerment by employing a large share of female and male workers, especially in developing countries. Food systems at all levels-globally, domestically, locally, and in the home- are expected to be highly affected by the COVID-19 crisis. Women and men work as food producers, processors, and traders and will likely be impacted differently. Shocks or crises can exacerbate or reduce gender gaps, and so can policy responses to mitigate the impact of these crises or shocks. We offer some perspectives and available country examples on how the COVID-19 crisis and responses to the crisis could be a setback or offer opportunities for gender equality in the food system. | Ragasa Catherine C; Lambrecht Isabel I | 2020-10-03 | pubmed24n1047.xml |
PUBMED | Food security | 32837650 | Food system disruption: initial livelihood and dietary effects of COVID-19 on vegetable producers in India. | Disruption to food systems and impacts on livelihoods and diets have been brought into sharp focus by the COVID-19 pandemic. We aimed to investigate effects of this multi-layered shock on production, sales, prices, incomes and diets for vegetable farmers in India as both producers and consumers of nutrient-dense foods. We undertook a rapid telephone survey with 448 farmers in 4 states, in one of the first studies to document the early impacts of the pandemic and policy responses on farming households. We find that a majority of farmers report negative impacts on production, sales, prices and incomes. Over 80% of farms reported some decline in sales, and over 20% of farms reported devastating declines (sold almost nothing). Price reductions were reported by over 80% of farmers, and reductions by more than half for 50% of farmers. Similarly, farm income reportedly dropped for 90% of farms, and by more than half for 60%. Of surveyed households, 62% reported disruptions to their diets. A majority of farm households reported reduced ability to access the most nutrient-dense foods. Around 80% of households reported ability to protect their staple food consumption, and the largest falls in consumption were in fruit and animal source foods other than dairy, in around half of households. Reported vegetable consumption fell in almost 30% of households, but vegetables were also the only food group where consumption increased for some, in around 15% of households. Our data suggest higher vulnerability of female farmers in terms of both livelihoods and diet, and differential effects on smaller and larger farms, meaning different farms may require different types of support in order to continue to function. Farms reported diverse coping strategies to maintain sales, though often with negative implications for reported incomes. The ability to consume one's own produce may be somewhat protective of diets when other routes to food access fail. The impacts of COVID-19 and subsequent policy responses on both livelihoods and diets in horticultural households risk rolling back the impressive economic and nutrition gains India has seen over the past decade. Food systems, and particularly those making available the most nutrient-dense foods, must be considered in ongoing and future government responses. | Harris Jody J; Depenbusch Lutz L; Pal Arshad Ahmad AA; Nair Ramakrishnan Madhavan RM; Ramasamy Srinivasan S | 2020-10-03 | pubmed24n1047.xml |
PUBMED | Food security | 32837651 | Conceptualising COVID-19's impacts on household food security. | COVID-19 undermines food security both directly, by disrupting food systems, and indirectly, through the impacts of lockdowns on household incomes and physical access to food. COVID-19 and responses to the pandemic could undermine food production, processing and marketing, but the most concerning impacts are on the demand-side - economic and physical access to food. This paper identifies three complementary frameworks that can contribute to understanding these effects, which are expected to persist into the post-pandemic phase, after lockdowns are lifted. FAO's 'four pillars'- availability, access, stability and utilisation - and the 'food systems' approach both provide holistic frameworks for analysing food security. Sen's 'entitlement' approach is useful for disaggregating demand-side effects on household production-, labour-, trade- and transfer-based entitlements to food. Drawing on the strengths of each of these frameworks can enhance the understanding of the pandemic's impacts on food security, while also pinpointing areas for governments and other actors to intervene in the food system, to protect the food security of households left vulnerable by COVID-19 and public responses. | Devereux Stephen S; Béné Christophe C; Hoddinott John J | 2020-10-03 | pubmed24n1047.xml |
PUBMED | Food security | 32837652 | Key indicators for monitoring food system disruptions caused by the COVID-19 pandemic: Insights from Bangladesh towards effective response. | In the context of developing countries, early evidence suggests that the impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic on food production systems is complex, heterogenous, and dynamic. As such, robust monitoring of the impact of the health crisis and containment measures across agricultural value chains will likely prove vitally important. With Bangladesh as a case study, we discuss the building blocks of a comprehensive monitoring system for prioritizing and designing interventions that respond to food system disruptions from COVID-19 and preemptively avoid further cascading negative effects. We also highlight the need for parallel research that identifies pathways for enhancing information flow, analysis, and action to improve the efficiency and reliability of input and output value chains. In aggregate, this preliminary work highlights the building blocks of resilient food systems to external shocks such as COVID-19 pandemic in the context of developing nations. In doing so, we call attention to the importance of 'infection safe' agricultural input and output distribution logistics, extended social safety nets, adequate credit facilities, and innovative labor management tools alongside, appropriate farm mechanization. In addition, digital extension services, circular nutrient flows, enhanced storage facilities, as well as innovative and robust marketing mechanisms are required. These should be considered in parallel with effective international trade management policies and institutions as crucial supportive measures. | Amjath-Babu T S TS; Krupnik Timothy J TJ; Thilsted Shakuntala H SH; McDonald Andrew J AJ | 2020-10-03 | pubmed24n1047.xml |
PUBMED | Food security | 32837653 | Informal food chains and agrobiodiversity need strengthening-not weakening-to address food security amidst the COVID-19 crisis in South America. | The COVID-19 crisis is worsening food insecurity by undermining informal food chains. We focus on impacts involving the informal food chains that incorporate the resilience-enhancing biodiversity of food and agriculture known as agrobiodiversity. Our analysis addresses how informal food chains and agrobiodiversity are impacted by policies and interventions amidst COVID-19 disruptions. Our methodology relies on research in Peru with a focus on the cites and surrounding areas of Lima, Arequipa, Cusco, Huancayo, and Huánuco. We extend these insights to similar challenges and opportunities across western South America and other word regions. We utilize the four-part Agrobiodiversity Knowledge Framework to guide our examination of agrobiodiversity-related processes that interconnect governance, nutrition, agroecology, and the COVID-19 pandemic. Our results detail three links of informal food chains that are being disrupted and yet can offer resilience. These are food retailing, logistics and transportation, and seed systems. Utilization of the Agrobiodiversity Knowledge Framework cuts through highly complex issues to elaborate key food-security difficulties facing informal systems and how they can be strengthened to provide more resilience. We identify the specific roles of agrobiodiversity in resilience-enhancing processes that need strategic policy and program support. Results identify ways to augment the resilience of informal food chains using agrobiodiversity and the empowerment of social groups and organizations in urban food systems and rural communities. We conclude that the disruptions triggered by the global COVID-19 pandemic highlight the need to use agrobiodiversity as an instrument for resilience in informal food chains. | Zimmerer Karl S KS; de Haan Stef S | 2020-10-03 | pubmed24n1047.xml |
PUBMED | Food security | 32837654 | Rapid tool based on a food environment typology framework for evaluating effects of the COVID-19 pandemic on food system resilience. | The coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) and associated mitigation measures are highlighting resiliency and vulnerability of food systems with consequences for diets, food security, and health outcomes. Frameworks and tools are called for to evaluate impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic as well as identify entry points for implementing preparedness efforts. We support it is critical to adopt a food environment typology framework based on the different types of food environments that people have access to in order to examine how their relationship with food environments shift with disruptions such as COVID-19 and, ultimately impact diets and food security. Here, we provide an overview of applying a food environment typology framework for developing and implementing a rapid tool to evaluate the effects of COVID-19 on interactions people have with their food environments. This tool was developed on the basis of a preliminary case study with smallholder farmers in China that generated a set of key hypotheses. We modified the tool in order to be applicable to diverse contexts in low-, middle-, and high-income countries. Other researchers can implement the rapid tool presented here during times of COVID-19 as well as other disruptions towards identifying barriers and opportunities for enhancing food system resilience. | Ahmed Selena S; Downs Shauna M SM; Yang Chunyan C; Chunlin Long L; Ten Broek Noah N; Ghosh-Jerath Suparna S | 2020-10-03 | pubmed24n1047.xml |
PUBMED | Food security | 32837655 | Imperfect food markets in times of crisis: economic consequences of supply chain disruptions and fragmentation for local market power and urban vulnerability. | As these lines were written, the Covid-19 pandemic crisis was continuing to threaten countries around the globe. The worldwide consensus that physical distancing is an effective instrument for mitigating the spread of the virus has led policymakers to temporarily limit the freedom of movement of people between and within countries, cities, and even neighborhoods. These public health-related restrictions on human mobility yielded an unprecedented fragmentation of international and national food distribution systems. Focusing on food retailing - usually being modestly oligopolistic - we take a micro-economic perspective as we analyze the potential consequences this disruption has for the physical as well as for the economic access of households to food at the local level. As the mobility constraints implemented substantially reduced competition, we argue that food retailers might have been tempted to take advantage of the implied fragmentation of economic activity by exploiting their temporarily raised market power at the expense of consumers and farmers. We illustrate our point by providing empirical evidences of rising wholesale-retail as well as farm-retail price margins observed during the Covid-19 crisis. Subsequently, we review existing empirical approaches that can be used to quantify and decompose the micro-economic effects of crises on food demand and supply as well as the size and structure of the market, costs of trade, and economic welfare. The employment of such approaches facilitates policymakers' understanding of micro-economic effects of public health-induced mobility restrictions on economic activity. | Ihle Rico R; Rubin Ofir D OD; Bar-Nahum Ziv Z; Jongeneel Roel R | 2020-10-03 | pubmed24n1047.xml |
PUBMED | Food security | 32837656 | COVID-19 and Pacific food system resilience: opportunities to build a robust response. | The unfolding COVID-19 pandemic has exposed the vulnerability of the Pacific food system to externalities and has had far-reaching impacts, despite the small number of COVID-19 cases recorded thus far. Measures adopted to mitigate risk from the pandemic have had severe impacts on tourism, remittances, and international trade, among other aspects of the political economy of the region, and are thus impacting on food systems, food security and livelihoods. Of particular concern will be the interplay between loss of incomes and the availability and affordability of local and imported foods. In this paper, we examine some of the key pathways of impact on food systems, and identify opportunities to strengthen Pacific food systems during these challenging times. The great diversity among Pacific Island Countries and Territories in their economies, societies, and agricultural potential will be an important guide to planning interventions and developing scenarios of alternative futures. Bolstering regional production and intraregional trade in a currently import-dependent region could strengthen the regional economy, and provide the health benefits of consuming locally produced and harvested fresh foods - as well as decreasing reliance on global supply chains. However, significant production, processing, and storage challenges remain and would need to be consistently overcome to influence a move away from shelf-stable foods, particularly during periods when human movement is restricted and during post-disaster recovery. | Farrell Penny P; Thow Anne Marie AM; Wate Jillian Tutuo JT; Nonga Nichol N; Vatucawaqa Penina P; Brewer Tom T; Sharp Michael K MK; Farmery Anna A; Trevena Helen H; Reeve Erica E; Eriksson Hampus H; Gonzalez Itziar I; Mulcahy Georgina G; Eurich Jacob G JG; Andrew Neil L NL | 2020-10-03 | pubmed24n1047.xml |
PUBMED | Food security | 32837657 | "Informal" food traders and food security: experiences from the Covid-19 response in South Africa. | This opinion piece looks at the substantial role of informal traders in ensuring food security, and other economic and social goods in South Africa and how they have been impacted by Covid-19 and responses to it. The state responses have reflected a continued undervaluing and undermining of this sector to the detriment of the traders themselves, their suppliers, and their customers. There is a need for a new valuing of the sector that would recognise and build on its mode of ordering and key contributions to society. This needs to include: shifting the narrative about the actors involved and challenging the concept of "informal"; planning and regulating to ensure more space for owner-operated small-scale food retailers; and putting in place a social-safety net to support them in times of crisis. | Wegerif Marc C A MCA | 2020-10-03 | pubmed24n1047.xml |
PUBMED | Food security | 32837658 | Disrupted food systems in the WHO European region - a threat or opportunity for healthy and sustainable food and nutrition? | Dietary health and sustainability are inextricably linked. Food systems that are not sustainable often fail to provide the amount or types of food needed to ensure population health. The ongoing pandemic threatens to exacerbate malnutrition, and noncommunicable diseases (NCDs). This paper discusses threats and opportunities for food environments and health status across the WHO European Region in the current context. These opportunities and threats are focused around four key areas: NCDs and health systems; dietary behaviour; food insecurity and vulnerable groups; and food supply mechanisms. Food systems were already under great stress. Now with the pandemic, the challenges to food systems in the WHO European Region have been exacerbated, demanding from all levels of government swift adaptations to manage healthiness, availability, accessibility and affordability of food. Cities and governments in the Region should capitalize on this unique opportunity to 'build back better' and make bold and lasting changes to the food system and consequently to the health and wellbeing of people and sustainability of the planet. | Rippin Holly L HL; Wickramasinghe Kremlin K; Halloran Afton A; Whiting Stephen S; Williams Julianne J; Hetz Kathrin K; Pinedo Adriana A; Breda João J JJ | 2020-10-03 | pubmed24n1047.xml |
PUBMED | Food security | 32837659 | Seed security response during COVID-19: building on evidence and orienting to the future. | In response to COVID-19, seed security interventions are being planned to help bolster fragile livelihoods. After 25 years of research during emergencies, there are many lessons to build on, including that seed systems, especially informal markets, prove fairly resilient and often function even in high stress contexts. As a wise first step, given the possible volatility in supply, farmers' seed saving should be supported actively and at scale. Rigorous remote assessments will have to become the new norm for gauging seed security, with reviews recognizing that different crops might be affected in different ways by specific seed channel stress or breakdown. Well-known short-term seed security responses, for example, Direct Seed Distribution, will need to be tailored to the new COVID-19 reality, particularly in terms of altering logistics. More fundamentally, three new factors might herald a transformation in response: 1) Choice for farmers has to be the operative principle (especially as markets may fluctuate quickly); 2) Remote two-way 'state of the art' communication has to be built rapidly; and 3) Seed quality options might need to be liberalized, especially given the scale of possible seed security intervention. Covid-19 effects will likely linger several years or potentially six to nine seasons (depending on agricultural calendar). Now might be the time to move from stop-gap responses (and repetitive ones) to more sustainable and powerful market-led support, with particular emphasis on responses that leverage and strengthen the informal sector markets. | Sperling Louise L | 2020-10-03 | pubmed24n1047.xml |
PUBMED | Food security | 32837660 | Mapping disruption and resilience mechanisms in food systems. | This opinion article results from a collective analysis by the Editorial Board of Food Security. It is motivated by the ongoing covid-19 global epidemic, but expands to a broader view on the crises that disrupt food systems and threaten food security, locally to globally. Beyond the public health crisis it is causing, the current global pandemic is impacting food systems, locally and globally. Crises such as the present one can, and do, affect the stability of food production. One of the worst fears is the impacts that crises could have on the potential to produce food, that is, on the primary production of food itself, for example, if material and non-material infrastructure on which agriculture depends were to be damaged, weakened, or fall in disarray. Looking beyond the present, and not minimising its importance, the covid-19 crisis may turn out to be the trigger for overdue fundamental transformations of agriculture and the global food system. This is because the global food system does not work well today: the number of hungry people in the world has increased substantially, with the World Food Programme warning of the possibility of a "hunger pandemic". Food also must be nutritious, yet unhealthy diets are a leading cause of death. Deepening crises impoverish the poorest, disrupt food systems, and expand "food deserts". A focus on healthy diets for all is all the more relevant when everyone's immune system must react to infection during a global pandemic. There is also accumulating and compelling evidence that the global food system is pushing the Earth system beyond the boundaries of sustainability. In the past twenty years, the growing demand for food has increasingly been met through the destruction of Earth's natural environment, and much less through progress in agricultural productivity generated by scientific research, as was the case during the two previous decades. There is an urgent need to reduce the environmental footprint of the global food system: if its performances are not improved rapidly, the food system could itself be one main cause for food crises in the near future. The article concludes with a series of recommendations intended for policy makers and science leaders to improve the resilience of the food system, global to local, and in the short, medium and long term. | Savary Serge S; Akter Sonia S; Almekinders Conny C; Harris Jody J; Korsten Lise L; Rötter Reimund R; Waddington Stephen S; Watson Derrill D | 2020-10-03 | pubmed24n1047.xml |
PUBMED | Food security | 32837661 | Consumer food stockpiling behavior and willingness to pay for food reserves in COVID-19. | Consumer behavior changes differently in emergencies. Understanding consumer food stockpiling behavior during COVID-19 pandemic can provide critical information for governments and policymakers to adjust inventory and response strategies. This paper analyzed consumer food stockpiling behavior, including the change of food reserve scale and willingness to pay for fresh food reserves in COVID-19. Our paper shows that the scale of food reserve extends from 3.37 to 7.37 days after the outbreak of COVID-19; if available, consumers on average are willing to pay 18.14 yuan (60.47%) premium for fresh products reserves. The result shows that food stockpiling behavior is fueled by a set of multiple motivations and subjective risk perception. Female, high education level and high-income consumers were more likely to reserve larger scale food reserves, but consumers' willingness to pay for fresh food reserves is determined by income. This study was conducted when new infection cases continued to rise in the world. The story of food stockpiling during the COVID-19 pandemic in China is similar with the rest of world. Consumer stockpiling behavior in China can also be expanded to other countries to predict the change of food demand and understand more about consumer preferences in emergencies. | Wang Erpeng E; An Ning N; Gao Zhifeng Z; Kiprop Emmanuel E; Geng Xianhui X | 2020-10-03 | pubmed24n1047.xml |
PUBMED | Waste and biomass valorization | 32837663 | Optimization of the Recovery of Anthocyanins from Chokeberry Juice Pomace by Homogenization in Acidified Water. | ABSTRACT: The recovery efficiency of waste valorization processes depends on an interplay of different conditions that are sometimes overlooked. Process optimization by the means of establishing mathematical relations between the process parameters and outputs is a strong tool to identify optimal operating conditions based on experimental data. In this study, the extraction of anthocyanins from chokeberry (Aronia melancocarpa) juice pomace using homogenization in acidified water was selected as a case study for process optimization using response surface methodology. The parameters studied were the citric acid content in the water, the temperature and the liquid-solid ratio. The optimal conditions to maximize both anthocyanin concentration and total anthocyanin content extracted were 1.5 wt% citric acid, 45 °C and 34 g solvent/g fresh pomace. Furthermore, the model developed predicted satisfactorily the overall anthocyanin content and anthocyanin concentration in the extract, as well as the final pH and total dissolved solids. The process optimization performed in this study sets the ground for further process design targeting the production of high-value products from byproducts or biowaste to be used in food ingredients or supplements. | Roda-Serrat Maria Cinta MC; Andrade Thalles Allan TA; Rindom Janus J; Lund Peter Brilner PB; Norddahl Birgir B; Errico Massimiliano M | 2021-10-03 | pubmed24n1047.xml |
PUBMED | Waste and biomass valorization | 32837664 | Optimized Production of Fatty Acid Ethyl Esters (FAEE) from Waste Frying Oil by Response Surface Methodology. | ABSTRACT: In Europe, recent regulations on advanced biofuels have prompted a search for new fuel sources and the development of synthesis methods meeting the demanding specifications of the sector. However, in developing countries such as Algeria, where a significant stock of frying oil is unused, the use of diesel engines powered with waste-oil-derived biofuels must be explored. In this work, the variables related to the transesterification reaction from this frying oil with ethanol are analyzed using response surface methodology. From this analysis, only the reaction time and temperature have been determined as relevant parameters. In addition, FT-IR analysis has proven a useful tool to analyse the conversion in the transesterification reaction of waste frying oil with ethanol and is cheaper and quicker than GC-FID. This sustainable biofuel (FAEE), mixed with a diesel and pure fuel, has been physically characterized. The mixture of FAEE at 30% by volume with diesel meets the requirements demanded in standard EN 590 and can be classified as winter diesel class D. As a pure biofuel, only its high cold flow temperatures could constitute a drawback for exporting to temperate climates but not for internal consumption. | Ortega Marcelo F MF; Donoso David D; Bousbaa Hamza H; Bolonio David D; Ballesteros Rosario R; García-Martínez María-Jesús MJ; Lapuerta Magín M; Canoira Laureano L | 2021-10-03 | pubmed24n1047.xml |
PUBMED | Journal of cardiology cases | 32837666 | Relative bradycardia as a clinical feature in patients with coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19): A report of two cases. | We treated two patients with COVID-19 pneumonia requiring mechanical ventilation. Case 1 was a 73-year-old Japanese man. Computed tomography (CT) revealed ground-glass opacities in both lungs. He had severe respiratory failure with a partial pressure of oxygen in arterial blood/fraction of inspiratory oxygen ratio (P/F ratio) of 203. Electrocardiogram showed a heart rate (HR) of 56 beats/min, slight ST depression in leads II, III, and aVF, and mild saddle-back type ST elevation in leads V1 and V2. High-sensitivity cardiac troponin T (cTnT) level was slightly elevated. Despite a high fever and hypoxemia, his HR remained within 50-70 beats/min. Case 2 was a 52-year-old Japanese woman. CT revealed ground-glass opacities in the lower left lung. Electrocardiogram showed a HR of only 81 beats/min, despite a body temperature of 39.2 °C, slight ST depression in leads V4, V5, V6, and a prominent U wave in multiple leads. She had an elevated cTnT and a P/F ratio of 165. Despite a high fever and hypoxemia, her HR remained within 50-70 beats/min. Both patients had a poor compensatory increase in their HR, despite their critical status. Relative bradycardia could be a cardiovascular complication and is an important clinical finding in patients with COVID-19. <Learning objective: We report two Japanese cases of COVID-19 pneumonia with relative bradycardia as a condition and no significant compensatory increase in heart rate despite high fever and severe hypoxemia. Relative bradycardia in COVID-19 might be associated with myocardial injury due to not only direct viral involvement but also systemic inflammation. We should carefully observe the occurrence of relative bradycardia because it could potentially be a clinical sign of COVID-19.>. | Hiraiwa Hiroaki H; Goto Yukari Y; Nakamura Genki G; Yasuda Yuma Y; Sakai Yoshinori Y; Kasugai Daisuke D; Jinno Shinsuke S; Tanaka Taku T; Ogawa Hiroaki H; Higashi Michiko M; Yamamoto Takanori T; Jingushi Naruhiro N; Ozaki Masayuki M; Numaguchi Atsushi A; Kondo Toru T; Morimoto Ryota R; Okumura Takahiro T; Matsuda Naoyuki N; Murohara Toyoaki T | 2020-12-03 | pubmed24n1047.xml |
PUBMED | The EPMA journal | 32837665 | 10th Anniversary of the European Association for Predictive, Preventive and Personalised (3P) Medicine - EPMA World Congress Supplement 2020. | In 2019, the EPMA celebrated its 10th anniversary at the 5th World Congress in Pilsen, Czech Republic. The history of the International Professional Network dedicated to Predictive, Preventive and Personalised Medicine (PPPM / 3PM) is rich in achievements. Facing the coronavirus COVID-19 pandemic it is getting evident globally that the predictive approach, targeted prevention and personalisation of medical services is the optimal paradigm in healthcare demonstrating the high potential to save lives and to benefit the society as a whole. The EPMA World Congress Supplement 2020 highlights advances in 3P medicine. | Golubnitschaja Olga O; Topolcan Ondrej O; Kucera Radek R; Costigliola Vincenzo V | 2020-08-03 | pubmed24n1047.xml |
PUBMED | Journal of arrhythmia | 32837668 | Impact of COVID-19 on pacemaker implant. | Objectives: The purpose of this article was to determine the change in the volume of pacemaker implantations with the COVID-2019 pandemic and to assess the change in the number of pacemaker implants according to etiology during the pandemic. Background: The establishment of a mandatory social isolation have generated a decrease in activities in cardiology units. Methods: Descriptive, cross-sectional study that used a database of a Peruvian Hospital. Time was divided into three categories: Before COVID period and COVID period including Previous to Social isolation (SI) and Social Isolation. The number of pacemaker implantations were compared per the same amount of time. Results: A reduction in the pacemaker implant of 73% (95% CI: 33-113; P <.001) was observed during the COVID-19 pandemic period, and a reduction of 78% of patients with the diagnosis of complete or high-grade atrioventricular block and a reduction in the de-novo pacemaker implant was observed, regardless of the etiology. Conclusions: Our results indicate a very significant reduction (73%) in de-novo pacemaker implantation during the months of the COVID-19 pandemic. The reduction in the number of de-novo pacemaker occurred independent of the etiology. | Gonzales-Luna Ana C AC; Torres-Valencia Javier O JO; Alarcón-Santos Javier E JE; Segura-Saldaña Pedro A PA | 2020-10-03 | pubmed24n1047.xml |
PUBMED | Radiology case reports | 32837669 | Use of chest CT-scan images to differentiate between SARS-CoV-2 infection and fat embolism: A clinical case. | The authors present the case of a young man victim of a traffic accident during the SARS-CoV-2 confinement, having presented a fracture of the femoral shaft that was soon complicated by respiratory failure with oxygen desaturation. In this pandemic context, Covid-19 RT-PCR tests were carried out but returned negative. The CT images could suggest either a fatty embolism, a SARS-CoV-2 infection or both. The patient's condition improved significantly after going into intensive care and only symptomatic treatment. This case demonstrates the difficulty of differential interpretation of CT images between fatty embolism and SARS-CoV-2 infection. | Agbelele Penance P; Van Maris François F; Sanguina Mario M; Zerkly Bachar B; Djebara Az-Eddine AE; Girard Pierre P | 2020-10-03 | pubmed24n1047.xml |
PUBMED | Radiology case reports | 32837670 | Rapid onset of bronchiectasis in COVID-19 Pneumonia: two cases studied with CT. | Since the widespread of acute respiratory syndrome infection caused by Coronavirus-19 unenhanced computed tomography (CT) was considered an useful imaging tool commonly used in early diagnosis and monitoring of patients with complicated COVID-19 pneumonia. Many typical imaging features of this disease were described such as bilateral multilobar ground-glass opacification (GGO) with a prevalent peripheral or posterior distribution, mainly in the lower lobes, and sometimes consolidative opacities superimposed on GGO. As less common findings were mentioned septal thickening, bronchiectasis, pleural thickening, and subpleural involvement. After 3 months from the onset of COVID-19 pneumonia some studies published the evolution of imaging features of COVID-19 pneumonia such as an increase of GGOs and a progressive transformation of GGO into multifocal consolidative opacities, septal thickening, and development of a crazy-paving pattern. As far as we know bronchiectasis were described only as a possible aspecific imaging feature of COVID-19 pneumonia and no studies reporting the onset or evolution of bronchiectasis during imaging follow-up in patients with COVID-19 have been published. Here we describe two cases of rapid evolution of bronchiectasis documented at CT in patients with COVID-19 pneumonia. Further studies are necessary to determine predisposing factors to the onset of bronchiectasis and to evaluate clinical correlation with respiratory distress. Radiologists should always consider bronchial features when they report CT scans of patients with COVID-19 pneumonia. | Ambrosetti Maria Chiara MC; Battocchio Giulia G; Zamboni Giulia Angela GA; Fava Cristiano C; Tacconelli Evelina E; Mansueto Giancarlo G | 2020-11-03 | pubmed24n1047.xml |
PUBMED | Radiology case reports | 32837671 | COVID-19 pneumonia identified by CT of the abdomen: A report of three emergency patients presenting with abdominal pain. | Patients with COVID-19 infection may present to the Emergency Department (ED) with gastrointestinal complaints and no respiratory symptoms. We are presenting 3 patients who came to the ED with abdominal pain; and the computed tomography [CT] of the abdomen showed findings suggestive of COVID-19 pneumonia. A 65-year-old male patient presented with symptoms of urinary tract infection and left renal angle tenderness. A 42-year-old male patient presented with right flank pain postextracorporeal shock wave lithotripsy. A 71-year-old male known to have type 2 diabetes mellitus and who had had whipple surgery for a neoplasm of the head of the pancreas presented with a painful epigasteric swelling. The 3 patients had positive COVID-19 polymerase chain reaction (PCR) tests and mild-to-moderate illness, and were discharged home after 2 weeks with a good recovery. The first patient had a false negative early PCR test, which turned positive on 2 repetitions of the test. A systematic review of CT abdomen, including inspection of the lung bases using the lung window in all CT abdomen, is essential to detect findings suggestive of COVID-19 pneumonia in patients requiring a CT abdomen study. As proven in the literature, CT findings of COVID-19 pneumonia have a higher sensitivity than the PCR test. | Abolyazid Sherif S; Alshareef Shireen S; Abdullah Nouf N; Khalil Abdalla A; Hamza Nashaat N; Salem Ahmed A | 2020-11-03 | pubmed24n1047.xml |
PUBMED | Radiology case reports | 32837672 | COVID-19-associated encephalopathy with fulminant cerebral vasoconstriction: CT and MRI findings. | Severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-Cov-2) can cause various mild to severe neurologic symptoms, leading to significant morbidity and mortality. We hereby present a fatal case of a 50-year-old male health care provider, admitted due to altered mental status due to encephalopathy, cerebral edema, and fulminant cerebral vasoconstriction caused by SARS-Cov-2. Our case highlights the importance of considering SARS-Cov-2 infection in the differential diagnosis for patients with unexplained central nervous system dysfunction and cerebral edema to prevent delayed diagnosis and render rapid treatment. | Sirous Reza R; Taghvaei Reheleh R; Hellinger Jeffery C JC; Krauthamer Alan V AV; Mirfendereski Sam S | 2020-11-03 | pubmed24n1047.xml |
PUBMED | Peer-to-peer networking and applications | 32837673 | An integrated P2P framework for E-learning. | The focus of this paper is to design and develop a Peer-to-Peer Presentation System (P2P-PS) that supports E-learning through live media streaming coupled with a P2P shared whiteboard. The participants use the "ask doubt" feature to raise and resolve doubts during a session of ongoing presentation. The proposed P2P-PS system preserves causality between ask doubt and its resolution while disseminating them to all the participants. A buffered approach is employed to enhance the performance of P2P shared whiteboard, which may be used either in tandem with live media streaming or in standalone mode. The proposed system further extends P2P interactions on stored contents (files) built on top of a P2P file sharing and searching module with additional features. The added features allow the creation of mash-up presentations with annotations, posts, comments on audio, video, and PDF files as well as a discussion forum. We have implemented the P2P file sharing and searching system on the de Bruijn graph-based overlay for low latency. Extensive experiments were carried out on Emulab to validate the P2P-PS system using 200 physical nodes. | Bhagatkar Nikita N; Dolas Kapil K; Ghosh R K RK; Das Sajal K SK | 2020-10-03 | pubmed24n1047.xml |
PUBMED | International journal of cognitive therapy | 32837674 | COVID-19-Related Economic Anxiety Is As High as Health Anxiety: Findings from the USA, the UK, and Israel. | As the COVID-19 outbreak peaks, millions of individuals are losing their income, and economic anxiety is felt worldwide. In three different countries, the present study addresses four different sources of anxiety: health-related anxiety, economic-related anxiety, daily routine-change anxiety, and anxiety generated by social isolation. We hypothesized that, economic anxiety would have a similar or greater effect, compared to health anxiety. Results show that in all three countries, the levels of economic and health anxiety were essentially equal, and both surpassed routine-change and isolation anxiety. Although the COVID-19 crisis originated in the health field, this study emphasizes the need to move from a generalized concept of anxiety to specific types of distress, most notably economic anxiety. Economic anxiety results in serious mental and physical health problems and should be attended to by clinical professionals and by policy makers. | Bareket-Bojmel Liad L; Shahar Golan G; Margalit Malka M | 2021-10-03 | pubmed24n1047.xml |
PUBMED | Bioenergy research | 32837676 | Sustainability of Palm Biodiesel in Transportation: a Review on Biofuel Standard, Policy and International Collaboration Between Malaysia and Colombia. | Biodiesel is gaining prominence as a superior alternative source of energy to replace petroleum-based fuel in transportation. As of today, the biodiesel market continuous to rise up as the biofuel has been introduced to more than 60 countries worldwide. The aim of the present review is to highlight on the scenario of the biofuel implementation in transportation sector towards sustainable development in Colombia and Malaysia. Colombia serves as an ideal comparative case for Malaysia in terms of biodiesel development since the country is the main palm oil producer in Latin America region and the pioneer in bioethanol industry. The first section shows an overview on the biodiesel as an alternative fuel in transportation. The next section will focus on a comparative study between Malaysia and Colombia biodiesel sector in terms of energy supply, resource, production and consumption, standards, techno-economic cost and their biodiesel policies. A comprehensive review was studied to discuss on the sustainability of palm cultivation and biodiesel, impact of palm industry and biodiesel policy in transportation sector and potential international collaboration between Malaysia and Colombia to improve their existing policies, strategies and blueprints related to the palm biodiesel industry, thus overcoming the challenges when dealing with global energy issue. | Yusoff Mohd Nur Ashraf Mohd MNAM; Zulkifli Nurin Wahidah Mohd NWM; Sukiman Nazatul Liana NL; Chyuan Ong Hwai OH; Hassan Masjuki Haji MH; Hasnul Muhammad Harith MH; Zulkifli Muhammad Syahir Amzar MSA; Abbas Muhammad Mujtaba MM; Zakaria Muhammad Zulfattah MZ | 2021-10-03 | pubmed24n1047.xml |
PUBMED | Psychological injury and law | 32837675 | Ethical and Professional Considerations in the Forensic Assessment of Complex Trauma and Dissociation. | Empirical research spanning the past three decades has consistently upheld that traumatic experiences are prevalent, 537-547, 2013; Resnick, Kilpatrick, Dansky, Saunders, & Best Journal of Clinical and Consulting Psychology, 61. Therefore, the likelihood of encountering an individual who has experienced significant trauma within forensic settings is high. Further, forensic psychologists are frequently called upon to assess the impact of such traumatic events and to opine about their connection to a specific psycho-legal issue such as damages in a civil case or the presence of extreme emotional disturbance or mitigating factors in criminal matters. Childhood trauma that has occurred repeatedly and cumulatively, particularly within the context of family relationships, has been referred to as complex trauma. Complex trauma has been shown to result in significant difficulties in a broad range of capabilities such as affect regulation, dissociation, identity development, relational capacities, and somatic distress. The author delineates core ethical principles and challenges encountered in forensic assessment both generally and more specifically in the forensic assessment of complex trauma and dissociation. She also details practical strategies for responding to those challenges. In addition, the author identifies essential skills needed for competency in this arena and outlines professional considerations that arise when working with this population. | Rocchio Lisa M LM | 2020-10-03 | pubmed24n1047.xml |
PUBMED | Risk, hazards & crisis in public policy | 32837677 | Hiding in Plain Sight: Conceptualizing the Creeping Crisis. | The COVID-19 crisis is a stark reminder that modern society is vulnerable to a special species of trouble: the creeping crisis. The creeping crisis poses a deep challenge to both academics and practitioners. In the crisis literature, it remains ill-defined and understudied. It is even harder to manage. As a threat, it carries a potential for societal disruption-but that potential is not fully understood. An accumulation of these creeping crises can erode public trust in institutions. This paper proposes a definition of a creeping crisis, formulates research questions, and identifies the most relevant theoretical approaches. It provides the building blocks for the systematic study of creeping crises. | Boin Arjen A; Ekengren Magnus M; Rhinard Mark M | 2020-06-03 | pubmed24n1047.xml |
PUBMED | Ingenierie et recherche biomedicale : IRBM = Biomedical engineering and research | 32837678 | Deep Transfer Learning Based Classification Model for COVID-19 Disease. | The COVID-19 infection is increasing at a rapid rate, with the availability of limited number of testing kits. Therefore, the development of COVID-19 testing kits is still an open area of research. Recently, many studies have shown that chest Computed Tomography (CT) images can be used for COVID-19 testing, as chest CT images show a bilateral change in COVID-19 infected patients. However, the classification of COVID-19 patients from chest CT images is not an easy task as predicting the bilateral change is defined as an ill-posed problem. Therefore, in this paper, a deep transfer learning technique is used to classify COVID-19 infected patients. Additionally, a top-2 smooth loss function with cost-sensitive attributes is also utilized to handle noisy and imbalanced COVID-19 dataset kind of problems. Experimental results reveal that the proposed deep transfer learning-based COVID-19 classification model provides efficient results as compared to the other supervised learning models. | Pathak Y Y; Shukla P K PK; Tiwari A A; Stalin S S; Singh S S; Shukla P K PK | 2022-04-03 | pubmed24n1047.xml |
PUBMED | Ingenierie et recherche biomedicale : IRBM = Biomedical engineering and research | 32837679 | Automated Deep Transfer Learning-Based Approach for Detection of COVID-19 Infection in Chest X-rays. | The most widely used novel coronavirus (COVID-19) detection technique is a real-time polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR). However, RT-PCR kits are costly and take 6-9 hours to confirm infection in the patient. Due to less sensitivity of RT-PCR, it provides high false-negative results. To resolve this problem, radiological imaging techniques such as chest X-rays and computed tomography (CT) are used to detect and diagnose COVID-19. In this paper, chest X-rays is preferred over CT scan. The reason behind this is that X-rays machines are available in most of the hospitals. X-rays machines are cheaper than the CT scan machine. Besides this, X-rays has low ionizing radiations than CT scan. COVID-19 reveals some radiological signatures that can be easily detected through chest X-rays. For this, radiologists are required to analyze these signatures. However, it is a time-consuming and error-prone task. Hence, there is a need to automate the analysis of chest X-rays. The automatic analysis of chest X-rays can be done through deep learning-based approaches, which may accelerate the analysis time. These approaches can train the weights of networks on large datasets as well as fine-tuning the weights of pre-trained networks on small datasets. However, these approaches applied to chest X-rays are very limited. Hence, the main objective of this paper is to develop an automated deep transfer learning-based approach for detection of COVID-19 infection in chest X-rays by using the extreme version of the Inception (Xception) model. Extensive comparative analyses show that the proposed model performs significantly better as compared to the existing models. | Narayan Das N N; Kumar N N; Kaur M M; Kumar V V; Singh D D | 2022-04-03 | pubmed24n1047.xml |
PUBMED | Bollettino della Unione matematica italiana (2008) | 32837680 | Epidemic evolution models to the test of Covid-19. | We illustrate a suitable adaptation and modification of classical epidemic evolution models that proves helpful in the study of Covid-19 spread in Italy. | Brandi Primo P; Ceppitelli Rita R; Salvadori Anna A | 2020-10-03 | pubmed24n1047.xml |
PUBMED | Journal of dental sciences | 32837683 | Dental care and infection-control procedures during the COVID-19 pandemic: The experience in Taipei City Hospital, Taiwan. | Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19), caused by the severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2), has now widely spread globally. The main transmission routes of SARS-CoV-2 comprise human-to-human droplet infection, including inhalation and contact infection of patient's saliva, blood and other body fluids through oral mucosa, nasal mucosa, and the eyes, and orofecal transmission. Dental treatment necessitates close-proximity, face-to-face practices and can generate droplets or aerosols containing water, saliva, blood, microorganisms, and other debris during the procedure. Therefore, dental professionals are at a high risk of SARS-CoV-2 infection. To prevent nosocomial SARS-CoV-2 spread during dental procedures, Taipei City Hospital established a dental patient triage and workflow algorithm for the provision of dental services during the COVID-19 pandemic. Given the highly contagious nature of SARS-CoV-2, it is imperative to institute an appropriate standard procedural policy for patient management and recommendation of dental treatment at hospitals during the COVID-19 pandemic. | Lee Ya-Ling YL; Chu Dachen D; Chou Sin-Yi SY; Hu Hsiao-Yun HY; Huang Sheng-Jean SJ; Yen Yung-Feng YF | 2020-09-03 | pubmed24n1047.xml |
PUBMED | Journal of dental sciences | 32837686 | The status of hospital dentistry in Taiwan in October 2019. | BACKGROUND/PURPOSE: Dental care has been officially incorporated into the hospital accreditation system in Taiwan since 2015. The geographical distribution of dentist manpower still remains in an unbalanced status as shown by the dentist-to-population ratio. This study tried to assess the dental manpower issue in terms of the status of hospital dentistry, and hence provided two organizational-level suggestions with their policy implications. MATERIALS AND METHODS: This study utilized the secondary data analysis to evaluate the dental manpower in dental departments of medical centers, regional hospitals, and district hospitals in different regions of Taiwan in October 2019. RESULTS: Our results found that the dental manpower including the numbers of general dentists and dental specialists was highest in medical centers, followed by regional hospitals and district hospitals. Moreover, the dental resources and manpower were mostly concentrated in the northern region of Taiwan, followed by the central and southern regions of Taiwan, the eastern region of Taiwan, and offshore islands. CONCLUSION: The hospital dentistry in Taiwan develops toward large-scale and specialization. Both hospital general dentists and dental specialists are concentrated in the medical centers, especially the medical centers in the northern region of Taiwan, indicating the problem of oversupply in the northern Taiwan and unbalanced distribution of dentists among the regions in Taiwan. Therefore, the responsibilities of the hospitals in metropolitan areas are to develop the elderly and disabled dentistry and to assist with oral health promotion and oral disease prevention in remote areas to reduce the urban-rural gap in dental resources in Taiwan. | Cheng Feng-Chou FC; Chang Julia Yu-Fong JY; Lin Tzu-Chiang TC; Tsai Po-Fang PF; Chang Yung-Ta YT; Chiang Chun-Pin CP | 2020-12-03 | pubmed24n1047.xml |
PUBMED | Toxicological research | 32837681 | A history of the roles of cytochrome P450 enzymes in the toxicity of drugs. | The history of drug metabolism began in the 19th Century and developed slowly. In the mid-20th Century the relationship between drug metabolism and toxicity became appreciated, and the roles of cytochrome P450, and pharmacogenetics. Issues related to drug toxicity include drug-drug interactions, drug-food interactions, and the roles of chemical moieties of drug candidates in drug discovery and development. The maturation of the field of P450 and drug toxicity has been facilitated by advances in analytical chemistry, computational capability, biochemistry and enzymology, and molecular and cell biology. Problems still arise with P450s and drug toxicity in drug discovery and development, and in the pharmaceutical industry the interaction of scientists in medicinal chemistry, drug metabolism, and safety assessment is critical for success. | Guengerich F Peter FP | 2021-01-03 | pubmed24n1047.xml |
PUBMED | Journal of dental sciences | 32837687 | Management of oral medicine emergencies during COVID-19: A study to develop practise guidelines. | Coronavirus disease (COVID-19) pandemic has become a significant global public health concern. Since the announcement of the Public Health Emergency of International Concern, many countries have implemented lockdown and restrictive quarantines; therefore, routine dentistry, as well as oral medicine practise, have been suspended in several countries. However, urgent oral cares and emergencies are still operated and delivered by on-call dental practitioners. The objective of this study was to investigate the management of oral medicine emergency during a viral pandemic such as COVID-19. During the lockdown period, digital technologies, such as video conferencing with Zoom, Google Meeting or WhatsApp, are useful and efficient tools that oral medicine practitioners could consider to use for patient triage, managing emergencies, reassure, and follow patients remotely. Oral medicine emergencies can be carefully evaluated and triaged via video conferencing and sometimes phone contact, to avoid life-threatening risks while realising the limitations by both patient and clinician. | Lv Na N; Sun Ming M; Polonowita Ajith A; Mei Li L; Guan Guangzhao G | 2021-01-03 | pubmed24n1047.xml |
PUBMED | Journal of dental sciences | 32837688 | Guidance for dental treatment of patients with disabilities during COVID-19 pandemic. | People with disabilities are challenged managing their oral hygiene and more often burdened with oral diseases. They often require immediate dental treatment for severe pain and greater precautions are needed to cope with COVID-19. The potential for COVID-19 infection can be relatively high in patients with disabilities due to concomitant systemic diseases, unique individual circumstances, relationship with caregivers and the living conditions of long-term care facilities, which make them vulnerable to the virus. For behavior management, dental treatment is often provided under general anesthesia with meticulous preoperative evaluation and the use of high-quality viral filters. In response to COVID-19, additional considerations should be taken for dental procedures on patients with special needs. These recommendations for dental treatment of the disabled are based on 6 months of authors COVID-19 pandemic experience. | Kwak Eun-Jung EJ; Kim Jieun J; Perinpanayagam Hiran H; Kum Kee-Yeon KY | 2021-01-03 | pubmed24n1047.xml |
PUBMED | Building simulation | 32837689 | Pedestrian wind comfort near a super-tall building with various configurations in an urban-like setting. | Pedestrian wind comfort near a 400 m super-tall building in high and low ambient wind speeds, referred to as Windy and Calm climates, is evaluated by conducting computational fluid dynamics (CFD) simulations. The super-tall building has 15 different configurations and is located at the center of 50 m medium-rise buildings in an urban-like setting. Pedestrian level mean wind speeds near the super-tall building is obtained from three-dimensional (3D), steady-state, Reynolds-Averaged Navier-Stokes (RANS)-based simulations for five incident wind directions (θ = 0°, 22.5°, 45°, 90°, 180°) that are subsequently compared with two wind comfort criteria specified for Calm and Windy climates. Results show a 1.53 times increase in maximum mean wind speed in the urban area after the construction of a square-shaped super-tall building. The escalated mean wind speeds result in a 23%-15% and 36%-29% decrease in the area with "acceptable wind comfort" in Calm and Windy climates, respectively. The area with pedestrian wind comfort varies significantly with building configuration and incident wind direction, for example, the configurations with sharp corners, large plan aspect ratios and, frontal areas and the orientation consistently show a strong dependency on incident wind direction except for the one with rounded plan shapes. Minor aerodynamic modifications such as corner modifications and aerodynamically-shaped configurations such as tapered and setback buildings show promise in improving pedestrian wind comfort in Windy climate. | Zhang Xinyue X; Weerasuriya Asiri Umenga AU; Zhang Xuelin X; Tse Kam Tim KT; Lu Bin B; Li Cruz Yutong CY; Liu Chun-Ho CH | 2020-10-03 | pubmed24n1047.xml |
PUBMED | Building simulation | 32837690 | Using air curtains to reduce short-range infection risk in consulting ward: A numerical investigation. | Air curtains is promising in reducing the short-range infection risk in hospitals. To quantitatively evaluate its performance, this paper explores air curtains equipped on normal consulting desk to avoid doctor's direct exposure to the patient exhaled pollutants. A numerical investigation is conducted to evaluate the effects of supply air velocity and angle on cutting off performance. Simulation results show that the average mass fraction of exhaled pollutants decreases significantly (70%-90%) in the consulting ward, indicating satisfying performance of air curtains. Increasing supply air velocity is demonstrated to be conducive in forming full air curtains, whereas an excessively high supply air velocity may be of adverse effects by entraining exhaled flow. Besides, the supply air angle is also critical due to its coupling with supply air velocity. It is found that larger angle (0°-40°) is better where velocity is less than 3 m/s, otherwise a small angle (20°) is preferable where velocity is larger than 3 m/s. Exhaled flow could be well suppressed at the supply air angle 20° but moves over air curtains at 40°. This study can provide effective and intuitive guidance in applying air curtains in consulting wards. Electronic Supplementary Material ESM: Supplementary material is available in the online version of this article at 10.1007/s12273-020-0649-7. The ESM files include the animation of patient exhaled droplets from the droplet birth at 0 s to 5 s under the supply air angle 0°, 20°, 40°, at supply air velocity 3 m/s. | Ye Jin J; Qian Hua H; Ma Jianchao J; Zhou Rong R; Zheng Xiaohong X | 2021-10-03 | pubmed24n1047.xml |
PUBMED | Building simulation | 32837691 | Association of the infection probability of COVID-19 with ventilation rates in confined spaces. | A growing number of cases have proved the possibility of airborne transmission of the coronavirus disease 2019 is required. If the infector and susceptible person wear masks, then the ventilation rate ensuring a less than 1% infection probability can be reduced to a quarter respectively, which is easier to achieve by the normal ventilation mode applied in typical scenarios, including offices, classrooms, buses, and aircraft cabins. Strict preventive measures (for example, wearing masks and preventing asymptomatic infectors from entering public spaces using tests) that have been widely adopted should be effective in reducing the risk of infection in confined spaces. | Dai Hui H; Zhao Bin B | 2020-10-03 | pubmed24n1047.xml |
PUBMED | Building simulation | 32837692 | A novel circulated air curtain system to confine the transmission of exhaled contaminants: A numerical and experimental investigation. | Air curtain is an efficient device for cutting off airflow and confining contaminants. Inspired by the ability, a circulated air curtain composed of end-to-end plane jets generated by a relay of air pillars is proposed to confine exhaled contaminants in this study. Furthermore, the optimization study of computational fluid dynamics (CFD) is conducted to explore cutting-off performance and find better design parameters under different conditions, that is, human-curtain distance, enclosure shape, jet velocity from air pillar, and exhalation modes. The multidirectional blockage and vortex-like rotative transmission routes of exhaled airflow are observed when air curtain exists. Results indicate that contaminants are concentrated around the source. The average mole fraction of exhaled contaminants outside air curtain under different human-curtain distance decreases 4.3%-19.6% compared to mixing ventilation with same flux. Shortening the human-curtain distance can improve the performance of air curtain and may change the direction of exhaled airflow. Moreover, It has better performance when the enclosure shape is close to a circle. Higher jet velocity is better for improving the confinement performance, but the trend is not very obvious as velocity increases. For exhalation modes, it is more challenging to control exhaled contaminants for intense exhalation activity (such as coughing) in steady simulation, but results in transient simulation show better performance when coughing only once. These results can provide a reference for the subsequent design and improvement in applying air curtain in hospital wards or other places, especially during the period of flu outbreak. Electronic Supplementary Material ESM: Supplementary material is available in the online version of this article at 10.1007/s12273-020-0667-5. The ESM file presents the animation of the droplet trajectory from the droplet birth at 0 s to 8 s. | Wang Haixin H; Qian Hua H; Zhou Rong R; Zheng Xiaohong X | 2020-10-03 | pubmed24n1047.xml |
PUBMED | Behavior analysis in practice | 32837695 | Best Practices: Caregiver Training Resources Derived From Remote Behavioral Service Delivery Within the Foster Care System. | In the face of COVID-19 and necessary shifts in service delivery for behavior analysts, caregiver involvement in behavioral interventions will likely increase. Resources that caregivers can consume and implement independently are critical in helping them manage behavior in their homes. This article includes antecedent and consequent behavior-management strategies that correspond with provided written instructions and video tutorials designed for caregivers. The materials presented within this article were originally produced and found effective in aiding caregivers managing behavior in their homes within the Alabama foster care system. Although individuals within this system are at a higher risk of abuse and neglect and may engage in higher levels of aberrant behavior, we are distributing this document in hopes it will help behavior analysts working across a variety of populations as they navigate changes in service delivery and adopt resources for continued care and caregiver training. | King Emma K EK; Harrell Angelyn R AR; Richling Sarah M SM | 2020-09-03 | pubmed24n1047.xml |
PUBMED | Behavior analysis in practice | 32837696 | A Model of Support for Families of Children With Autism Living in the COVID-19 Lockdown: Lessons From Italy. | Italy has been the European country most affected by the COVID-19 pandemic to date and has been in social lockdown for the longest period of time compared to other countries outside China. Almost overnight, Italian behavior analysts were faced with the challenge of setting up remotely whole-family systems aimed at maintaining adaptive skills and low levels of challenging behavior to be carried out solely by caregivers. Given these extraordinary circumstances, the protocols available from the applied behavior-analytic, parent training, and autism literature did not appear to fully meet the needs of parents having to be with their children under extreme levels of stress in a confined space with limited reinforcers for 24 hr a day, 7 days a week. To meet this unprecedented challenge, we developed a dynamic and holistic protocol that extended to the full day and that recognized the need for sustainable intervention delivered solely by parents, who were often looking after more than one child. These practices are presented in this article, together with a discussion of lessons we have learned thus far, which may be useful for behavior analysts working in other regions in which the effects of the pandemic are not yet fully realized. Although somewhat unorthodox, we include some parent comments at the end with the goal of sharing the parent perspective in real time as this pandemic unfolds across the world. | Degli Espinosa Francesca F; Metko Alma A; Raimondi Marta M; Impenna Michele M; Scognamiglio Elena E | 2020-09-03 | pubmed24n1047.xml |
PUBMED | Nano research | 32837694 | Neglected interstitial space in malaria recurrence and treatment. | The interstitial space, a widespread fluid-filled compartment throughout the body, is related to many pathophysiological alterations and diseases, attracting increasing attention. The vital role of interstitial space in malaria infection and treatment has been neglected current research efforts. We confirmed the reinfection capacity of parasites sequestrated in interstitial space, which replenish the mechanism of recurrence. Malaria parasite-infected mice were treated with artemisinin-loaded liposomes through the interstitial space and exhibited a better therapeutic response. Notably, compared with oral administration, interstitial administration showed an unexpectedly high activation and recruitment of immune cells, and resulted in better clearance of sequestered parasites from organs, and enhanced pathological recovery. The interstitial route of administration prolongs the blood circulation time of artemisinin and increases its plasma concentration, and may compensate for the inefficiency of oral administration and the nanotoxicity of intravenous administration, providing a potential strategy for infectious disease therapy. | Zhang Qiang Q; Ao Zhuo Z; Hu Nan N; Zhu Yuting Y; Liao Fulong F; Han Dong D | 2020-10-03 | pubmed24n1047.xml |
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