ABSTRACT
Under the influence of the COVID-19 pandemic, there is an accelerated transition from the traditional form of knowledge transfer to online learning. Our study of 344 automotive students showed that the success of this transition depends on the readiness to introduce special digital tools for organizing knowledge and conducting practical forms of classes. In this regard, a modern digital form of organizing and transferring knowledge to automotive service engineers in the form of virtual laboratories was developed and presented in the article. The work scenarios, functionality, and minimum technical requirements of virtual laboratories as software systems are described and reviewed in the paper. The rationale for the effectiveness of the application, based on the results of using 109 university students in training practice, is presented as a result of the research. An analysis of the distributions of the student survey results and their training progress revealed differences at the p = 0.05 significance level. This confirmed the hypothesis that the use of methods for teaching engineers special disciplines and language skills using VR technologies is much more effective than the traditional one. An increase in students' interest in learning was revealed, and their performance improved markedly. This proves that the immersive nature of VR technology makes it possible to better assimilate the studied material, increase the level of motivation of future car service specialists, and also allow the organization of the transfer of knowledge online. The very process of knowledge transfer becomes the point of acquiring new digital competencies necessary for high-tech industries. © 2023 by the authors.
ABSTRACT
Given different advances in applied literature, risky and positive behaviours keep gaining ground as key contributors for riding safety outcomes. In this regard, the Cycling Behaviour Question-naire (CBQ) represents one of the tools available to assess the core dimensions of cycling behaviour and their relationship with road safety outcomes from a behavioural perspective. Nevertheless, it has never been psychometrically approached through a cross-cultural perspec-tive. Therefore, this study aimed to perform the cross-cultural validation of the CBQ, examining its psychometric properties, reliability indexes, validity insights and descriptive scores in 19 countries distributed across five regions: Europe, America, Asia, Africa, and Oceania. For this purpose, it was used the data retrieved from a full sample of 7,001 urban cyclists responding to a large-scale electronic survey. Participants had a mean age of M = 36.15 (SD = 14.71), ranging between 16 and 83 years. The results of this large-scale study empirically support the assumption that the 29-item version of the CBQ has a fair dimensional structure and item composition, good internal consistency, reliability indexes, and an interesting set of validity insights. Among these results, there can be highlighted that: (i) Structurally speaking, the questionnaire works better under a three-factor dimensionality, keeping all its 29 items, whose factor loadings are >0.400 in
ABSTRACT
Active immunization of patients with autoimmune diseases is a current challenge. Vaccination of patients with multiple sclerosis (MS) has been shown not to be associated with increased risk of exacerbation. A personalized approach to immunization of this group of patients is required, taking account of ongoing therapy and the nature of the course of illness. MS is not an absolute contraindication for vaccination against the new coronavirus infection. Vaccination can be with any of the currently authorized immunoformulations.
ABSTRACT
COVID-19 affects everyone on a daily-basis causing adjustments in which society functions. One of these major adjustments is the need to measure how well people distance from each other, that is referred to as social distancing. Previous work to automate social distancing violations does not take into consideration the exceptions to minimum distance guidelines. In this paper, we propose GroupNet, a novel multi-object tracking social distancing violation detector through the addition of group detection to reduce the number of false positives that are currently missed in existing literature. We define the social distancing violation occurs when two individuals are within a specified Euclidean distance of two meters. GroupNet leverages the contextual information learned by group detection. Moreover, GroupNet uses a Joint Detection and Embedding (JDE) multi-object tracker as a backbone network for group detection. To map from pixel-wise coordinates to the real-world equivalent coordinate, a pre-processed affine matrix is used for the transformation. GroupNet determines if two individuals are a group through leveraging a re-identification component from a multi-object tracker. Location of bounding boxes are tracked over time to obtain individuals relative distance between each other. Group-Net uses regression analysis to determine if the relative distance between two individuals changes over time. The likelihood of the change in relative distance is non-zero determines group existence between individuals (i.e. group detection). Performance of GroupNet is evaluated by manual inspection of output images due to the lack of labeled ground truth data. Moreover, GroupNet through the provided experiments shows an improvement in the reduction in the number of false-positives due to group detection analysis alongside the addition of minimal false-negatives. © 2021 IEEE.
ABSTRACT
Immunization of the patients with autoimmune diseases is rising a lot of concerns. It was previously demonstrated that vaccination in MS patients was not associated with an increased risk of exacerbations. A personalized approach is needed to define the immunization schedule. A decision should be made based on the course of the disease and the treatment used. Multiple sclerosis is not an absolute contraindication to vaccination. Any authorized vaccine can be used in MS patients.
Subject(s)
Autoimmune Diseases , Multiple Sclerosis , Vaccines , Humans , VaccinationABSTRACT
Culture is one of the most important spheres of human society, reflecting its level of development. Spiritual and material values that constitute the national wealth of a country are produced, accumulated, and preserved there. The spiritual wealth of culture is not subject to the influence of time and the processes of inflation and is a real means of accumulation. Culture enriches people with knowledge, helps them to evolve, and transmits cultural heritage from generation to generation, accumulated over many years. By understanding culture as a particular sphere of human activity, we have the prospect of purposeful management of it. Culture in this context is understood as a result of accumulated, transmitted, and produced cultural practices of people. Such practices are concentrated in museums, exhibition halls, theatres, houses of culture, art schools, libraries, creative workshops, etc.
ABSTRACT
The opinion of Russian experts on the possibility of COVID-19 vaccination in patients with multiple sclerosis (MS) is presented. The authors of the consensus, based on an analysis of a large number of domestic and foreign guidelines, conclude that it is possible to use killed and inactivated vaccines. Preliminary recommendations are given for COVID-19 vaccination, taking into account the MS disease modifying therapies. © 2021 Ima-Press Publishing House. All rights reserved.
ABSTRACT
The new coronavirus SARS-CoV-2 and the disease it causes COVID-19 involves not only respiratory system damage, but can also lead to disorders of the central and peripheral nervous system, as well as the muscular system. This article presents published data and our own observations on the course of neurological disorders in COVID-19 patients. There is a relationship between the severity of COVID-19 and the severity and frequency of neurological manifestations. Severe neurological disorders are mostly seen in severe cases of COVID-19 and include acute cerebrovascular accidents (aCVA), acute necrotizing encephalopathy, and Guillain-Barré syndrome. Factors potentially complicating the course of COVID-19 and increasing the development of neurological complications include arterial hypertension, diabetes mellitus, and chronic cardiac and respiratory system diseases. Questions of the possible effects of human coronaviruses on the course of chronic progressive neurological diseases are addressed using multiple sclerosis (MS) as an example. We discuss the management of patients with aCVA and MS depending on the risk of developing coronavirus infection.
ABSTRACT
The main target for COVID-19 is the lung with the development of acute respiratory failure. But the virus also displays tropism to the central nervous, muscle, and immune systems. The paper gives the data available in the literature on nervous system damage and the characteristics of clinical and magnetic resonance imaging manifestations of brain damage in COVID-19. Among the neurological symptoms of COVID-19, there may be stroke, encephalitis, and neuropathy. An account is given of the features of multiple sclerosis patient management during the COVID-19 pandemic depending on the risk of developing coronavirus infection. © 2020 Ima-Press Publishing House. All rights reserved.
ABSTRACT
On March 11, 2020, the WHO announced the COVID-19 outbreak a pandemic. The disease was established to be caused by a new single-stranded RNA virus (ss-RNA, 29903 bp) that belongs to a group of coronaviruses (CoV). Objective: to assess the results of a pilot analysis of the efficiency of using Angiovit in the combination treatment of acute COVID-19 with pneumonia or acute respiratory viral infection. Patients and methods. The study enrolled 50 patients with acute COVID-19. In all the patients, the diagnosis of coronavirus infection was confirmed by polymerase chain reaction. Angiovit was used in 25 patients (13 (52%) women) (mean age, 39.4 years) with moderate infection who had been admitted on an average of disease day 3 (a study group). A comparison group consisted of 25 patients whose gender, age, and clinical features of COVID-19 did not differ at the time of admission;they were prescribed only mainstay therapy. Results and discussion. Adding Angiovit to the mainstay therapy contributed to an average reduction in the fever period from 5.88 to 4.12 days (p<0.05) and to the earlier hospital discharge of patients with an improvement (on day 13 versus on day 16.8 days in the comparison group;p<0.05);Normalization of CRP, D-dimer, and homocysteine levels occurred considerably and faster. Conclusion. The pilot study has shown that the use of Angiovit in the combination therapy of COVID-19 reduces the clinical and laboratory manifestations of inflammation and hypercoagulation, which may also be associated with the action of folic acid.
ABSTRACT
Novel coronavirus SARS-CoV-2 and COVID-19, besides affecting the respiratory system, may lead to central and peripheral nervous system disorders and also cause muscular symptoms. The authors review the literature and own clinical case with respect to nervous system involvement in COVID-19 patients. There is a correlation between the severity of COVID-19 and the severity and frequency of neurologic complications. Severe neurologic symptoms are primarily observed in patients with severe COVID-19. Neurologic-associated symptoms may include stroke, acute necrotizing encephalopathy, and Guillen-Barre syndrome. Diseases that potentially aggravate COVID-19 and increase the risk of neurologic complications include arterial hypertension, diabetes, chronic diseases of the heart and respiratory system. The probable impact of human coronaviruses on chronic and progressive diseases of the nervous system with particular respect to multiple sclerosis is reviewed. A triage plan for stroke and MS patients during the COVID-19 pandemic, depending on the risk of coronavirus infection, is presented.