Effect of Exercise Therapy on Stress Response Evaluated by IoMT Monitoring System.

The Internet of Medical Things (IoMT) system plays a role in various areas of social activity, including healthcare. Telemetry of cardiovascular function, such as blood pressure and pulse, in daily life is useful in the treatment of cardiovascular disease and stress management. However, until now, brain function monitoring technology has not been installed in the IoMT system.In this study, we used near-infrared spectroscopy (NIRS) installed in the IoMT system to evaluate whether consumers who are not medical experts can measure their own brain function correctly. In addition, the IoMT system was used to assess the long-term effects of physical exercise on physical and mental health.We studied a total of 119 healthy adults recruited from a fitness gym in Koriyama, Japan. After receiving instruction in the usage of the IoMT monitoring system including NIRS, the subjects monitored their physical and mental conditions by themselves when they visited the gym. We evaluated the relations between blood pressure (BP), pulse rate (PR), body weight (BW) and age. In addition, we evaluated the left/right asymmetry of the prefrontal cortex (PFC) at rest and BP. We calculated the laterality index at rest (LIR) for assessment of left/right asymmetry of PFC activity; a positive LIR (>0) indicates right-dominant PFC activity associated with higher stress responses, while a negative LIR (<0) indicates left-dominant PFC activity associated with lower stress responses. We studied 47 out of 119 cases who monitored their physiological conditions before and after physical exercise for 6 months for this study.The results showed that the systolic blood pressure and mean blood pressure (p < 0.05) were significantly reduced after the physical exercise for 6 months; body weight did not change significantly (p > 0.05). In addition, NIRS demonstrated that LIR changed to plus values from minus values after exercise (p < 0.01).These results show that (1) consumers who are not-medical experts can measure their own brain function correctly using NIRS; (2) after long-term physical exercise, systemic blood pressure decreased, associated with modulation of PFC activity (i.e., from right-dominant PFC activity to left-dominant activity), indicating that long-term physical exercises caused relaxation in the brain and the autonomic nervous system.

Risk spillover effect of global financial markets in the context of novel coronavirus epidemic

Since the outbreak of COVID-19 pandemic, the financial markets of many countries have been impacted severely. In this context, based on the event study method and orthogonal decomposition method, this paper studies the impact of the novel coronavirus epidemic on the spillover effect of global financial risk, and further analyses the financial risk transmission channels of various countries. The results suggest that the novel coronavirus significantly increases the overall risk level of global financial markets, and exacerbates the contagion effects of financial risk through the global risk spillover network. In addition, the analysis of transmission channels reveals the source and direction of the financial risks in each country, manifesting as the unidirectional risk transmissions from developed countries to developing countries and the bidirectional risk contagion paths of countries with similar level of development. Therefore, facing the challenges of public health emergencies such as novel coronavirus epidemic, the major economies should strengthen multilateral cooperation and promote the coordination of macroeconomic policies to jointly defuse global systemic financial risk. © 2023 Informa UK Limited, trading as Taylor & Francis Group.

Hierarchical Scheduling of Complex Dynamic Supply Chain

Green manufacturing (especially the right production scale) and optimization of logistics transportation (especially logistics transportation to ensure economic benefits) have become challenging issues. This paper focuses on production planning and scheduling of dynamic supply chain via (Formula presented.) control scheme. This paper considers the production scale control and resource scheduling optimization of complex dynamic supply chain under the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic.Firstly, the information of green manufacturing production is collected, and a new mathematical model of complex dynamic supply chain including multi-level distributor/retailer, multi-delay inventory and multi-lead time is established. Secondly, the optimal resource scheduling scheme is designed based on the principle of (Formula presented.) cybernetics, which is called the hierarchical scheduling of complex dynamic supply chain in this paper. Finally, a numerical example shows the effectiveness and feasibility of the proposed scheme. Through this model, the production of manufacturers, the inventory of manufacturers and distributors, and the order quantity of distributors can be arranged in advance, which improves the robustness of the closed-loop dynamic supply chain. © 2022 by the authors.

Pathogens inactivation in nutrient recovery from urine: A review

Urine source separation, a kind of new sewage management concept, has made great progress in technology development and application in the past 30 years. However, understanding of the potential microbial risks in reuse of urine derived fertilizer products (UDFPs) in agriculture is still lacking. Outbreak of pandemic of Coronavirus Disease 2019 and more deadly disease caused by Monkeypox strongly sounds the alarm bell to the attention on pathogens in urine and their fate in UDFPs. Therefore, this study presented a comprehensive review on pathogens inactivation in nutrient recovery technologies. The review suggests that technologies using alkaline or heating treatment can effectively reduce pathogens in UDFPs. However, technologies with characteristics such as membrane rejection of nutrients or nutrient adsorption may even concentrate pathogens in their fertilizer products. Based on an overall assessment, connections of technologies and the pathogens inactivation in their UDFPs have been established. This would help to provide a perspective on development of urine treatment technology and management of microbial risks in reusing urine nutrients in agriculture.

Dynamically adapting to the new normal: unpacking SMEs' adoption of social media during COVID-19 outbreaks

PurposeThis paper aims to investigate small and medium enterprises' (SMEs) adoption of social media platforms and how they integrated them within their marketing strategies during the COVID-19 outbreaks. Dynamic capabilities - observed as the interplay between sensing, seizing and reconfiguration capabilities - represent the principal theoretical framework used in this research to explain challenges in social media adoption and their effects on these businesses. Design/methodology/approachThis study adopts the grounded theory approach to analyze semistructured interviews with 19 key informants from Italian SMEs belonging to diversified industries. FindingsThe findings of this research are summarized in a holistic framework that explores three types of capabilities (i.e. sensing, seizing and reconfiguration capabilities) and the marketing outcomes of social media adoption among SMEs. Originality/valueThis study attempts to unpack the specific dynamic capabilities that allowed SMEs to be successful in social media adoption during COVID-19 outbreaks.

SUPPORT VECTOR MACHINE MODEL FOR PREDICTING ACTIVITY OF INHIBITORS AGAINST SARS-COV 3CLpro ENZYME

Severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) is a beta coronavirus which led to coronavirus disease-2019 (COVID-19) and has threatened global public health and economy. Currently there is no specific medicine for COVID-19. So there is an urgent need to develop broad-spectrum anti-coronavirus drugs. The SARS-CoV 3-chymotrypsin-like protease (3CLpro) is highly conservative in beta-coronavirus and becomes viable target used for anti-SARS drugs. Support vector machine (SVM) algorithm was used to build quantitative structure–activity relationships (QSARs) for the activity (logIC50) of 204 inhibitors for SARS-CoV 3CLpro enzyme. Seven molecular descriptors were selected for the optimal SVM model with parameters C = 250 and γ = 0.15, which has root-mean-square (rms) errors being 0.341 (training set), 0.337 (validation set) and 0.336 (test set). Comparison with other models in the literature shows that the SVM model was proved to be satisfactory although the SVM model in this paper has more samples. The investigation results provide a powerful tool for searching new 3CLpro enzyme inhibitors for SARS-CoV. © 2022, Publishing House of the Romanian Academy. All rights reserved.

An Integrated Single Device Framework for Combined Face Recognition and Covid-19 Detection Using Thermal Infrared Imagery

Temperature detection aiming for Covid-19 prevention is widely in demand from 2020. A system combining Covid-19 detection and authentication plays a significant role in ensuring safety and security. Nevertheless, after reviewing the literature, it is found that most of such systems existing contain two devices including a visible light camera for recognition and a thermal camera for temperature detection. In this paper, we propose an integrated single device framework based on a thermal camera, which combines authentication and Covid-19 detection using thermal infrared imagery. It features customizing machine learning models for face recognition, temperature detection with thermal images captured by the thermal camera and sending warnings to the house owner remotely if necessary. The whole work is carried out from two aspects: framework design and simulation. The framework designing part concerns modules involved and allocating the modules into edge devices and servers. For the software implementation part, work is generally divided into the initialization phase for training the machine learning model and the authentication phase for face recognition and temperature detection. © 2022 IEEE.

The effect of utilitarian and hedonic motivations on mobile shopping outcomes. A cross-cultural analysis

Mobile devices are ubiquitous in the lives of modern consumers, who use them for information-seeking and purchasing activities, fostering the emergence of m-commerce. This trend has been exacerbated by the COVID-19 pandemic, which has boosted m-commerce growth in both developed and developing countries. Hence, there is a need for cross-cultural research concerning the factors affecting behavioural intentions. Drawing upon the hedonic information systems model, we measure the impact of utilitarian factors on satisfaction, repurchase intention, and eWOM through the mediation of enjoyment across two countries characterized by different stages of m-commerce readiness and culture: China and Italy. Findings suggest that the impact of utilitarian factors on satisfaction is stronger among Italian users than Chinese users. On the contrary, for Chinese users, who use their mobile phones as a primary device to shop online, the mediation effect of enjoyment on satisfaction and eWOM is stronger. With this study, we contribute to cross-cultural research in m-commerce and provide guidelines to mobile retailers operating in diverse international markets. © 2022 The Authors. International Journal of Consumer Studies published by John Wiley & Sons Ltd.

Validity of remote evaluation of the North Star Ambulatory Assessment in patients with Duchenne muscular dystrophy

Delandistrogene moxeparvovec (SRP-9001) is an investigational gene transfer therapy developed for targeted skeletal and cardiac muscle expression of micro-dystrophin. In ongoing delandistrogene moxeparvovec Studies 101 and 102, remote functional assessment was initiated during the COVID-19 pandemic, in accordance with US Food and drug administration guidance. To evaluate the reliability of remote assessment of functional measures versus in-person testing, we assessed the reproducibility of remote North Star Ambulatory Assessment (NSAA), 10-metre Walk/Run (10MWR), and Time to Rise scores against in-person scores using pre-specified statistical analyses—including intraclass correlation coefficient (ICC), Pearson, Spearman, and Bland-Altman analyses. Preliminary results from eight patients with Duchenne muscular dystrophy (DMD), who completed an in-clinic assessment within 2 weeks of a remote assessment in Part 1 of Study 102, found strong correlations between remote and in-person NSAA scores (ICC=0.97 [95% confidence interval 0.87–0.99];Pearson=0.98 [95% CI 0.88–1.00];Spearman=0.93 [95% CI 0.66–0.99]). Analysis of all eight patients from Part 1 of Study 102 showed no statistical or clinical differences in NSAA scores attained remotely versus in person. Results from additional patients in Studies 101 and 102 (Parts 1 and 2), including correlations between remote and in-person scores on the 10MWR and time to rise, will also be presented. These findings suggest that remote functional assessment of patients with DMD is not statistically different from in-person assessment and has comparable clinical meaningfulness, validating its use in clinical trials of delandistrogene moxeparvovec. Given the burden that treatment and monitoring place on patients with DMD and their caregivers, remote assessment may be beneficial in future research, clinical trials, and clinical settings. [ FROM AUTHOR] Copyright of Neuromuscular Disorders is the property of Elsevier B.V. and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full . (Copyright applies to all s.)

Role of serum IL-6 and TNF-alpha in coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) associated renal impairment

Objectives: Association of severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) infection and kidney injury has been noted in previous studies. However, the mechanisms remain unknown. The present study aimed to explore the potential mechanisms of kidney injury in COVID-19. Methods: Demographic characteristics, underlying diseases, signs, symptoms, and laboratory data of 100 COVID-19 patients were collected and analyzed in this retrospective study. Patients were divided into three groups: mild, moderate, and severe to critical group. Kidney injury was evaluated by markers including estimated glomerular filtration rate (eGFR), serum creatinine, blood urea nitrogen, and cystatin C. Results: A total of 100 patients with 12 mild, 63 moderate, and 25 severe to critical COVID-19 were included in this study. The kidney injury markers including eGFR, serum creatinine, blood urea nitrogen, and cystatin C all worsened significantly with an increase in disease severity. The correlation test showed that cytokines IL-2R, IL-6, IL-8, and tumor necrosis factor (TNF)-alpha were statistically correlated with eGFR and cystatin C. In multivariate analysis, log IL-6 (beta = 0.331, p = .001 for eGFR and beta = 0.405, p < .001 for cystatin C) and log TNF-alpha (beta = -0.316, p = .001 for eGFR and beta = 0.534, p < .001 for cystatin C) were found to be the major independent predictors of kidney injury. Conclusion: Serum IL-6 and TNF-alpha levels were the major independent predictors of kidney injury in COVID-19.

The acceleration of digital communications in the durable goods industry. A study on white goods firms after COVID-19

Purpose: The purpose of this paper is to investigate how business-to-business (B2B) companies operating in durable goods use digital communications after the COVID-19 outbreak. In particular, this paper focuses on the objectives of these digital communication tools for the marketing strategies of B2B white goods firms. Design/methodology/approach: As the research objective is explorative, the authors conducted a qualitative analysis by collecting 13 semi-structured interviews with B2B marketing professionals working for white goods firms in Italy. Primary data was triangulated with secondary data about the white goods industry, such as sector reports. Findings: The findings of this paper show an acceleration in the adoption of digital communication tools among B2B firms after COVID-19. The authors also discuss the effects in the use of such tools both in the short and long term. Originality/value: This paper attempts to contribute to the B2B marketing literature by providing an original analysis of the consequences of the COVID-19 outbreak focusing on the use of digital communication tools among white goods firms. It also provides managerial implications for firms operating in B2B. © 2022, Emerald Publishing Limited.

Impacts of IT capability and supply chain collaboration on supply chain resilience: empirical evidence from China in COVID-19 pandemic

Purpose Building supply chain resilience is increasingly recognized as an effective strategy to deal with supply chain challenges, risks and disruptions. Nevertheless, it remains unclear how to build supply chain resilience and whether supply chain resilience could achieve a competitive advantage. Design/methodology/approach By analyzing the data collected from 216 firms in China, the current study empirically examines how information technology (IT) capability and supply chain collaboration affect different forms of supply chain resilience (external resilience and internal resilience) and examines the performance implications of these two forms of supply chain resilience. Findings Results show that IT capability is positively related to external resilience, whereas supply chain collaboration is positively related to internal resilience. The combination of IT capability and supply chain collaboration is positively related to external resilience. In addition, internal resilience is positively related to firm performance. Research limitations/implications This study used only cross-sectional data from China for hypothesis testing. Future studies could utilise longitudinal data and research other countries/regions. Practical implications The findings systematically assess how IT capability and supply chain collaboration contribute to supply chain resilience and firm performance. The results provide a benchmark of supply chain resilience improvement that can be expected from IT capability and supply chain collaboration. Originality/value The study findings advance the understanding of supply chain resilience and provide practical implications for supply chain managers.

ANTI-INFLAMMATORY APPROACH IN CHRONIC DIALYSIS PATIENTS WITH SARS-COV-2: ATA OR PMMA DIALYZERS?

BACKGROUND AND AIMS: High flux haemodialysis membranes may modulate the cytokine storm of severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2), but their impact in chronic haemodialysis (CHD) patients is not assessed [1, 2]. The aim of the study was the evaluation of asymmetric cellulose triacetate (ATA) and polymethylmethacrylate (PMMA) dialyzers on inflammatory markers in CHD patients with SARS-CoV-2. METHOD: A prospective, observational study on CHD patients (age ≥18 years) affected by SARS-CoV-2 was carried out. Patients were enrolled from March 2020 to May 2021 and dialysis was performed at S. Orsola University Hospital (Bologna, Italy) Dialysis Unit. Mechanical ventilation at diagnosis was exclusion criteria. Pre-and post-dialysis C-reactive protein (CRP), procalcitonin (PCT) and interleukin-6 (IL-6) were determined at each session and corrected for haemoconcentration during the complete SARS-CoV-2 period. Patients who underwent online haemodiafiltration (OLHDF) with PMMA dialyzer (Filtryzer BG-UTM, Toray, surface area 2.1 m2, cut-off 20 kDa, KUF 43 mL/h/mmHg) were compared with those who underwent OLHDF with ATA dialyzer (SolaceaTM, Nipro, surface area 2.1 m2, cut-off 45 kDa, KUF 72 mL/h/mmHg). The primary endpoint was to assess the differences in the reduction ratio/session (RR) of CRP, PCT and IL-6. RESULTS: A total of 74 patients were enrolled, 48 were treated with ATA and 26 were with PMMA (420 versus 191 dialysis sessions). The main results are shown in Table 1. Median IL-6RR% was higher for ATA [17.08%, interquartile range (IQR) -9.0 to 40.0 versus 2.95%, IQR -34.63 to 27.32]. CRP and PCT showed higher RR with ATA in comparison to PMMA. When IL-6RR > 25% was the dependent variable in the multiple logistic regression analysis only ATA showed a significant correlation [odds ratio (OR) 1.891, 95% confidence interval (95% CI) 1.273-2.840, P = .0018) while higher CRP favoured the risk of lower IL6RR (OR 0.9101, 95% CI 0.868-0.949, P < 0.0001) (Table 2). CONCLUSION: In SARS-CoV-2 CHD patients treated with OLHDF, ATA showed a better anti-inflammatory profile than PMMA, in particular regarding IL-6 RR.

A review on the environmental transmission of novel coronavirus (SARS-CoV-2)

Since the outbreak of the new coronavirus pneumonia (COVID-19) in December 2019, it has caused millions of deaths in more than 200 countries all over the world, and the global economic development has been severely impacted. Concerning the new type of coronavirus (SARS-CoV-2) that caused the epidemic, scientific research has been actively carried out around the world as well as various prevention and control measures, which made important contribution to protect human health. However, as one of the countries that made outstanding achievements in the prevention and control of the epidemic, there were some regional epidemics of “object-to-human transmission” and then “human-to-human transmission ” occurred after June 2020, indicating the complexity of the spread of SARS-CoV-2. In addition, the development of COVID-19 in some contraries is going uncontrollable recently, and infection cases of the SARS-CoV-2 variant strain have appeared in many countries, which made the prevention and control of the epidemic more difficult. This article briefly reviewed the updated research works on SARS-CoV-2, including possible sources of virus and infection mechanisms, diagnosis and treatment approaches, transmission characteristics and environmental impact, etc. In particular, the environmental factors affecting the transmission of SARS-CoV-2 are summarized in order to enhance the understanding of environmental transmission of SARS-CoV-2. © 2021, Science Press. All rights reserved.

Health Literacy Regarding Infection Disease Prevention and Treatment among Residents of Taizhou, Zhejiang: Temporal Trends and Associated Factors

Background: Due to repeated COVID-19 outbreaks worldwide, COVID-19 containment in China has become a routine social issue, entering a new phase of containment, and residents' health literacy about infection disease prevention and treatment has obtained increasing attentions. Objective: To explore the health literacy about infection disease prevention and treatment in residents of Taizhou, Zhejiang during 2017-2020, and to analyze the trend of changes as well as influencing factors, providing scientific evidence for the precise implementation of actions for achieving "Healthy Taizhou 2030". Methods: This study was implemented from 2017 to 2020 with Taizhou permanent residents aged between 15 and 69 selected using multistage random sampling, for investigating their demographics, socioeconomic features and health literacy about infection disease prevention and treatment using the National Residents' Health Literacy Monitoring Questionnaire developed by us. In January 2021, the data of health literacy about infection disease prevention and treatment of residents in Taizhou City in four years was analyzed. The health literacy data during 2017-2020 were comparatively analyzed after being processed with weight standardization, and the trend of changes during the period was analyzed using a Chi-squared test for linear trend. Binary logistic regression was used for identifying factors associated with relevant health literacy of these residents in 2020. Results: The number of respondents for the survey conducted in four consecutive years from 2017 to 2020, was 3 595, 5 389, 5 929, and 5 847, respectively. The samples in the four yearly surveys showed basically similar demographics, with those aged 45-54 (27.42%-30.46%), education level was junior high school(27.78%-29.93%), occupation was farmer(44.52%-58.03%)accounting for the largest proportion. The urban to rural population ratio for the sample of four consecutive yearly surveys was 0.50: 1, 0.55: 1, 0.54: 1 and 0.52: 1, respectively. And the male to female ratio was 1: 1, 0.95: 1, 0.99: 1 and 0.94: 1, respectively. The prevalence of having health literacy about infection disease prevention and treatment for 2017-2020 was 7.86% (642/3 595), 19.00%(1 024/5 389), 19.51%(1 157/5 929), and 27.14%(1 587/5 847), respectively. After the data were processed with weight standardization, the prevalence of health literacy regarding infectious disease prevention and treatment in 15-69-year-old residents in 2017-2020 was 22.25%, 24.72%, 25.34% and 33.14%, respectively. The health literary level regarding infectious disease prevention and treatment in the residents showed a successive linear increment during the study period regardless of living in rural or urban areas, sex, age(except for 65-69 year olds), and education level(except for illiteracy/lower illiteracy), and occupation(P< 0.05). Multivariate Logistic regression analysis showed that gender, age, education level, out-of-pocket health care costs in the past year, and annual household income were associated with health literacy regarding infectious disease prevention and treatment(P< 0.05). Conclusion: Our analysis indicates that some advances in prevention and control as well as health education regarding infectious diseases have been achieved in Taizhou, but there is still much room for improvement. In the "golden window" period for normalized prevention and control of COVID-19, it is suggested that Taizhou should strengthen health education regarding infectious disease prevention and treatment for key groups, such as those who are middle-aged and elderly, lower educated, or engage in a career as a farmer or worker, to further improve relevant heath literacy of Taizhou residents. Copyright © 2022 by the Chinese General Practice.