A social network analysis approach to estimate export disruption spread in the US during the Covid-19 pandemic: how policy response and industry ties relate

We examine how the Covid-19 pandemic led to the propagation of export disruptions on a state-by-state basis using a social network analysis model. We measure the impact of import disruptions, Covid-related hospitalizations, subsequent policy responses, and structural network effects on economic outcomes. In addition to examining contemporaneous effects, we include lagged policy response variables to determine their effect on disruption recovery trends. Findings suggest that disruptions cluster along shared industry connections. The results are consistent with previous work that shows that non-pharmaceutical policy interventions had limited contemporaneous and medium-term effects on trade flows. © 2023, The Author(s) under exclusive licence to Associazione Amici di Economia e Politica Industriale.

Boosting Student Wellbeing Despite a Pandemic: Positive Psychology Interventions and the Impact of Sleep in the United Arab Emirates.

Positive psychology interventions hold great promise as schools around the world look to increase the wellbeing of young people. To reach this aim, a program was developed to generate positive emotions, as well as improve life satisfaction, mental toughness and perceptions of school kindness in 538 expatriate students in Dubai, United Arab Emirates. Starting in September 2019, the program included a range of positive psychology interventions such as gratitude, acts of kindness and mental contrasting as examples. Life satisfaction and mental toughness at mid-year were sustained or grew by the end of the year. Positive affect, emotional wellbeing and social wellbeing increased at post-intervention 1, compared to baseline. However, this improvement reverted to baseline levels at post-intervention 2, when data were collected during the COVID-19 pandemic. Only psychological wellbeing, negative affect, perceptions of control, and school kindness were increased at post-intervention 2. During the lockdown, students moved less, but slept and scrolled more. Those who extended their sleep duration reported greater wellbeing. Boosting wellbeing through the use of positive psychology interventions works - even in a pandemic - and extended sleep duration appears to be a driving factor for this observation.

Investigating the Influence of Crisis Communication on Population Outrage amidst the Pandemic

The COVID-19 pandemic has emphasized the importance of effective crisis communication. Specifically, varied regional crisis communication has caused a substantial impact on how communities perceive the virus and its risks. Our research analyzes the COVID-19 crisis communication responses seen in the United States, Canada, France, Spain, Croatia, Israel, Belgium, and the Netherlands. Several pandemic specific societal norms were analyzed for positive and negative trends to capture population outrage, based on the various crisis communication measures implemented. The norms focused on include political intervention, mask use, travel restrictions, e-commerce, vaccination rates, and demand for disinfectants. These norms were identified because of their considerable uptick in heightened awareness in the public eye in light of the pandemic. The trends seen in these pandemic specific norms affected each population uniquely due to varying strategies adopted for crisis communication. Differences in crisis communication methods can lead to distinctive responses in outrage caused by the pandemic. For example, the United States' and the New Zealand's populations starkly juxtapose one another's crisis communication methods based on their outrage to pandemic specific societal norms. Our study investigates the influence that crisis communication has on the overall perception of the pandemic. Determining the influence that crisis communication has on population outrage can help improve future pandemic crisis communication to eventually bridge the gap between public outrage and the true risk at hand. © ASCE.

Global COVID-19 Related Waste Challenges, Response Strategies, and Potential Opportunities

As the world navigates the COVID-19 pandemic, the surge in waste generation, the varied composition of waste, and its subsequent management has presented several challenges to many communities. Waste management techniques and cultivating an awareness of the environmental and health impacts of mismanaged wastes have varied with location, economics, and priorities of the region. Risk mitigation efforts including the wearing of masks, lockdowns, and stay at home orders intended to contain the spread of the virus have resulted in several unintended environmental implications. With the rise in consumer plastic consumption, single use PPE, take away food orders, and online shopping, many households across the globe have reported an increase in waste. While developed countries have been able to approach the surge by utilizing and expanding current municipal waste management programs, countries lacking this existing infrastructure battle an increased risk of continued infection and magnified environmental issues through open landfills, groundwater contamination, and limited community awareness. Adopting appropriate methods of risk communication and encouraging participation from the public to manage waste issues is critical to protecting the environment by limiting contamination, improving community involvement in reducing landfill waste, and encouraging recycling. It is imperative to develop waste management solutions while continuing the promotion of sustainable habits, combating the current pandemic situation, and preparing for future episodic events. Our study focuses on analyzing episodic waste generation during the pandemic, management strategies adopted globally, and identifying areas of possible improvement and alternate strategies that can be implemented. © ASCE.

Clinical course of covid-19 in a high-risk patient

We present a 76-year-old male with a past medical history of thromboembolism and coronary heart disease. He was admitted to the hospital with acute hypoxemic respiratory insufficiency due to bilateral COVID-19 pneumonia. As spontaneous O2 saturation dropped to 60% on the second day of the hospital stay, the patient was transferred to the intensive care unit where an intensive oxygen therapy was initiated (HFNO: High-Flow Nasal Oxygenotherapy and non invasive ventilation via CPAP: Continuous Positive Airway Pressure). His oxygen saturation gradually increased and follow-up showed improvement in symptoms. After 17 days of in-patient treatment, he was discharged to homecare. Main factors affecting the outcome of ARDS (Acute Respiratory Distress Syndrome) are considered. Besides the intensive oxygen therapy, an early administration of low molecular heparin, remdesivir and dexamethasone most probably contributed to reversing the initial serious finding in this patient. Clinical improvement was accompanied by improved laboratory tests (CRP, procalcitonin, d-dimer, creatinine, hs-troponin, lymphocyte count). Finally, we discuss a potential association of coronavirus infection with herpetiform exanthema, which appeared before the patient was discharged from the hospital. © 2021, Czech Medical Association J.E. Purkyne. All rights reserved.