ABSTRACT
Rhinovirus (RV) is one of the pathogens causing acute and chronic respiratory illnesses worldwide in paediatric patients. Compulsory mask-wearing and high stringency of social distancing were executed in Hong Kong since the SARSCoV-2 outbreak. While other common respiratory viruses vanished in routine surveillance programme, two sudden upsurges of RV associated upper respiratory tract infections were observed from Oct. to Nov. 2020 after schools reopening, and Apr. to Aug. 2021. We aimed to investigate if these RVs have a prominent role in transmission by analysing the RV genotype composition, assessing their replication competence, and the clinical features of paediatric patients. RV specimens collected from the hospitalised patients were genotyped, with clinical features of the patient documented and compared to those obtained in the pre-COVID-19 period. The replication competence of the RVs was examined in the well-differentiated human nasopharyngeal epithelial cells (HNPEC), and the stability of the RVs on different materials was tested. We identified the monopoly of minor group RV in each of the study duration, namely RV-A47 (80%) and RV-A49 (51%), respectively. In contrast to a diversified RV genotype composition in 2018-19. Without prior in vitro adaptation, the two minor-group RVs replicated in the HNPECs effectively to a comparable level as in the laboratory strain RVA16. The rise of minor-group RVs and dominance of single RV genotype under strict social distancing and hand hygiene is remarkable. Further investigation of the viral determinant, with an assessment of transmissibility in an animal model, will be needed to validate the specific role of these RVs.
ABSTRACT
OBJECTIVE: To explore the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on the sleep-wake patterns of preschool children. METHODS: A cohort of preschoolers established before the COVID-19 pandemic was invited to participate in this study. Data including children's demographics, their own and parental sleep-wake patterns, physical activities, and screen time were collected through an online questionnaire from August to September 2020. A comparison was made on the collected data from the same cohort of children before and during the pandemic. RESULTS: The cohort which was established before the pandemic consisted of 3720 preschoolers. For this current study, 642 (17%) participated, and 497 (13%) children who fulfilled the eligibility criteria were included in the final analysis. They showed a delay in their bedtime and wake time on both weekdays and weekends with a 15-30 min increase in nocturnal sleep duration. However, with a reduction in nap time, the average daily sleep duration was shortened by 16.3 ± 64.3 min (p < 0.001) and 27.5 ± 72.9 min (p < 0.001) during weekdays and weekends, respectively. Screen time was increased while outdoor activity duration was decreased. Parental sleep/wake times were also delayed with an increase in sleep duration. Children's sleep habits were associated with screen time and parental sleep/wake patterns. CONCLUSION: Despite school suspension during the COVID-19 pandemic, preschoolers were not sleeping longer. Screen time and parental sleep/wake patterns were the major factors driving the preschoolers' sleep habits. Health education is required to control screen time in children and to promote sleep hygiene among all family members.
ABSTRACT
Vaccines that elicit mucosal immune responses against SARS-CoV-2 could potent ially be of exceptional importance in providing first line defence at the site of viral entry. In order to understand the mucosal immune response profiles of SARS-CoV-2 vaccines, we examined both the mucosal and systemic responses of subjects vaccinated by two different vaccination platforms: mRNA (Comirnaty) and inactivated virus (CoronaVac). Nasal epithelial lining fluid (NELF) and peripheral blood samples were collected in subjects who had received two doses of CoronaVac or Comirnaty. We quantified IgA and IgG specific to SARS-CoV-2 S1 protein, neutralisation antibody by ELISA in NELF and plasma samples. Only Comirnaty induced nasal S1-specific IgA and IgG responses, which were evident as early as on 14±2 days after the first dose. The NELF samples of 72% of subjects became IgA+IgG+, while in 62.5% of subjects the samples were neutralising by 7±2 days after the second dose. In 45% of the subjects their NELF remained neutralising 50 days after the booster. In plasma, 91% and 100% Comirnaty subjects possessed S1-specific IgA+IgG+ on 14±2 days after the first dose and 7±2 days after booster, respectively. The plasma collected on 7±2 days after booster was 100% neutralising. The induction of S1-specific antibody by CoronaVac was IgG dominant, and 70% of the subjects possessed specific IgG by 7±2 days after booster and were all neutralising. This study reveals that Comirnaty is able to induce S1-specific IgA and IgG r esponse with neutralising activity in the nasal mucosa in addition to a consistent systemic response.
ABSTRACT
During the COVID-19 pandemic, WHO and CDC suggest people stay 1 m and 1.8 m away from others, respectively. Keeping social distance can avoid close contact and mitigate infection spread. Many researchers suspect that suggested distances are not enough because aerosols can spread up to 7-8 m away. Despite the debate on social distance, these social distances rely on unobstructed respiratory activities such as coughing and sneezing. Differently, in this work, we focused on the most common but less studied aerosol spread from an obstructed cough. The flow dynamics of a cough jet blocked by the backrest and gasper jet in a cabin environment was characterized by the particle image velocimetry (PIV) technique. It was proved that the backrest and the gasper jet can prevent the front passenger from droplet spray in public transportation where maintaining social distance was difficult. A model was developed to describe the cough jet trajectory due to the gasper jet, which matched well with PIV results. It was found that buoyancy and inside droplets almost do not affect the short-range cough jet trajectory. Infection control measures were suggested for public transportation, including using backrest/gasper jet, installing localized exhaust, and surface cleaning of the backrest.
ABSTRACT
Past studies suggested that the sense of mattering tend to be a robust predictor of work self-efficacy, even when controlling for strong variables such as state self-esteem. This current study aimed to investigate whether the aforementioned suggested still holds among working adults who had to work from home (WFH) during the COVID-19 pandemic in Malaysia, where the government enforced movement control order (MCO), a semi-quarantine policy where individuals can only travel within 10 kilometer radius of their respective homes. We hypothesized that the state self-esteem will fully mediate the link between mattering and work self-efficacy during the period of WFH, and that trait extraversion will moderate the mediation. In the 5th week of the MCO, our data was gathered from 109 urban working adults in Malaysia who had to WFH by employing General Mattering Scale, State Self-Esteem Scale, Remote Work Self Efficacy Measure, and the extraversion facet in Big Five Inventory. The result of bootstrap analyses with 5000 samples using PROCESS Macro Model 8 suggested that state self-esteem mediated partially mediated the association of mattering and work self-efficacy among individuals at all levels of extraversion. Discussion, limitations and suggestions are provided in the end of the paper. © 2021, Universitas Ahmad Dahlan - Faculty of Publich Health. All rights reserved.