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Online public opinion warning for emergencies can help people understand the real situation, avoid panic, timely remind people not to go to high-risk areas, and help the government to carry out epidemic work.In this paper, key technologies of network public opinion warning were studied based on improved Stacking algorithm. COVID-19, herpangina, hand, foot and mouth, varicella and several emergency outbreaks were selected as public opinion research objects, and rough set was used to screen indicators and determine the final warning indicators.Finally, the warning model was established by the 50% fold Stacking algorithm, and the training accuracy and prediction accuracy experiments were carried out.According to the empirical study, the prediction accuracy of 50% Stacking is good, and the early warning model is practical and robust.This study has strong practicability in the early warning of the online public opinion of the sudden epidemic. © 2023 SPIE.
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Although various internet memes (IMs) were disseminated and popularized during the COVID-19 pandemic, the degree to which people appreciate them is unclear. In this study, people's appreciation of three kinds of typical IMs, which respectively conveyed the humorous (H-IM), encouraging (E-IM), and aggressive (A-IM) feelings towards the pandemic and the consequences it brought about, along with one objective description (OD) serving as the control condition, were compared. The results showed that the E-IMs and H-IMs were significantly more appreciated and loved than the A-IMs, thus supporting the prediction of positive psychology and humor regulation of negative emotion but failing to support the theory of psychology catharsis that emphasizes the need of making aggression to release tense and angry feelings caused by the pandemic. The results also showed that creativity played a mediating role for the positivity component in E-IMs and the humor component in H-IMs when predicting their fondness ratings. For the H-IMs, creativity could even fully mediate the impact of humor for exerting regulation effects on negative emotions evoked by the pandemic-related affairs such as home quarantine. This result revealed the creative nature of the IMs and showed that IMs are a kind of insightful cognitive restructuring that people make as a creative adaption to unfavorably changed situations caused by the pandemic.
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In the post-epidemic era, the trend of digital transformation on consumer services has promoted the fresh industry model upgrade and changed the food market space, and then given rise to diversified life demands. As the significant frontier for the spread of COVID-19 in China, the Wuhan food market is a microcosm of the changes in China's urban space, which is worth pondering. This study interpreted consumers' perception and identity in the food market from the perspective of consumer behavior and explained the connotation development of urban consumer service spatially, taking Wuhan City, Hubei Province, China as the case. The results showed that COVID-19 affected consumers' perception and emotional attitudes toward space, through the direct action on those behaviors and wishes, and reconstructed the spatial identity of Wuhan food markets in the post-epidemic era. In this era, consumers' perception of the food market was being more multi-dimensional and optimistic. They showed less sensitivity to the authenticity of traditional farmers' markets, while more interest in new retail spaces featured with leisure and sociality, such as fresh supermarkets and hypermarkets. They also emphasized more group space identity of small-scale community-level markets. From the Chinese case to the global perspective, this study proposed that the development of urban consumer services in the post-epidemic era was diversified and changeable, while the authenticity and stability of local food culture provided a flexible and extended space for such changes. The results and conclusions of this study will help to identify the Chinese characteristics and trends of consumer behavior in the post-epidemic era and provide a reference for the quality of living and the planning of urban spatial development, and provide China's case for global economic and social recovery after this epidemic. © The Author(s), under exclusive license to Springer Nature Switzerland AG 2022.
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With the spread of the COVID-19 pandemic and the implementation of closure measures in 2020, population mobility and human activities have decreased, which has seriously impacted atmospheric quality. Huaibei City is an important coal and chemical production base in East China, which faces increasing environmental problems. The impact of anthropogenic activities on air quality in this area was investigated by comparing the COVID-19 lockdown in 2020 with the normal situation in 2021. Tropospheric NO2, HCHO and SO2 column densities were observed by ground-based multiple axis differential optical absorption spectroscopy (MAX-DOAS). In situ measurements for PM2.5, NO2, SO2 and O3 were also taken. The observation period was divided into four phases, the pre-lockdown period, phase 1 lockdown, phase 2 lockdown and the post-lockdown period. Ground-based MAX-DOAS results showed that tropospheric NO2, HCHO and SO2 column densities increased by 41, 14 and 14%, respectively, during phase 1 in 2021 vs. 2020. In situ results showed that NO2 and SO2 increased by 59 and 11%, respectively, during phase 1 in 2021 vs. 2020, but PM2.5 and O3 decreased by 15 and 17%, respectively. In the phase 2 period, due to the partial lifting of control measures, the concentration of pollutants did not significantly change. The weekly MAX-DOAS results showed that there was no obvious weekend effect of pollutants in the Huaibei area, and NO2, HCHO and SO2 had obvious diurnal variation characteristics. In addition, the relationship between the column densities and wind speed and direction in 2020 and 2021 was studied. The results showed that, in the absence of traffic control in 2021, elevated sources in the Eastern part of the city emitted large amounts of NO2. The observed ratios of HCHO to NO2 suggested that tropospheric ozone production involved NOX-limited scenarios. The correlation analysis between HCHO and different gases showed that HCHO mainly originated from primary emission sources related to SO2. © 2023 by the authors.
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Due to the global COVID-19 pandemic, there is a strong demand for pharyngeal swab sampling and nucleic acid testing. Research has shown that the positive rate of nasopharyngeal swabs is higher than that of oropharyngeal swabs. However, because of the high complexity and visual obscuring of the interior nasal cavity, it is impossible to obtain the sampling path information directly from the conventional imaging principle. Through the combination of anatomical geometry and spatial visual features, in this paper, we present a new approach to generate nasopharyngeal swabs sampling path. Firstly, this paper adopts an RGB-D camera to identify and locate the subject's facial landmarks. Secondly, the mid-sagittal plane of the subject's head is fitted according to these landmarks. At last, the path of the nasopharyngeal swab movement in the nasal cavity is determined by anatomical geometry features of the nose. In order to verify the validity of the method, the location accuracy of the facial landmarks and the fitting accuracy of mid-sagittal plane of the head are verified. Experiments demonstrate that this method provides a feasible solution with high efficiency, safety and accuracy. Besides, it can solve the problem that the nasopharyngeal robot cannot generate path based on traditional imaging principles. It also provides a key method for automatic and intelligent sampling of nasopharyngeal swabs, and it is of great clinical value to reduce the risk of cross-infection. © 2023, The Author(s), under exclusive license to Springer Nature Singapore Pte Ltd.
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The coronavirus disease (COVID-19) has caused enormous disruptions to not only the United States, but also the global economy. Due to the pandemic, issues in the supply chain and concerns about food shortage drove up the food prices. According to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, the prices for food increased 4.1% and 3.7% over the year ended in August 2020 and August 2021, respectively, while the amount of annual increase in the food prices prior to the COVID-19 pandemic is less than 2.0%. Previous studies show that such kinds of exogenous disasters, including the 2011 Tohoku Earthquake, 9/11 terrorist attacks, and major infectious diseases, and the resulted unusual food prices often led to subsequent changes in people's consumption behaviors. We hypothesize that the COVID-19 pandemic causes food price changes and the price changes alter people's grocery shopping behaviors as well. To thoroughly explore this, we formulate our analysis from two different perspectives, by collecting data both globally, from China, Japan, United Kingdom, and United States, and locally, from different groups of people inside the US. In particular, we analyze the trends between food prices and COVID-19 as well as between food prices and spending, aiming to find out their correlations and the lessons for preparing the next pandemic. © 2022 IEEE.
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Purpose: Novel Coronavirus pneumonia 2019 (COVID-19) caused by the novel coronavirus severe acute respiratory syndrome (SARS) coronavirus- 2 (CoV-2) is a highly contagious infection with high morbidity and mortality1. Patients with systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE) are considered to be susceptible to coronavirus due to impaired immune function2. This study aims to systematically evaluate the prevalence of COVID-19 in SLE patients, and futher explore the impact of antirheumatic drug on the clinical outcome of COVID-19 in SLE patients. Method(s): Systematic searches of PubMed, EMBASE, Web of Science, the Cochrane Library and Medline, CNKI, CBM, China Science and Technology Journal Database and Wan Fang Data were performed. Cross-sectional investigations and case series on SLE and COVID-19 were included. Random effects model was used to pool data. Heterogeneity and risk of bias was examined with I squared index (I2) statistic and Egger tests were used for the evaluation of potential publication bias (STATA v.12.0). Result(s): A total of 14 studies comprising 5115 SLE patients and 698 COVID-19 patients were identified. Overall prevalence of COVID-19 in SLE patients was 6.7% (95%CI: 4.4-9.1%). The hospitalization rate was 31.6% (95%CI: 15.8%-47.3%), with the rate of 22.2% (95%CI: 6.2-38.2%) of patients were admitted to ICU, and the death rate was 19.3% (95%CI: 2.7%-35.9%). Eight of the studies included patients who used hydroxychloroquine as part of their treatment regimen, with 5.7% (95%CI: 3.3%-8.0%) prevalence rate. The hospitalisation rates for SLE patients with COVID-19 infection who received glucocorticoid was 69.2% (95%CI: 46.8%-91.6%). The rates of hospitalisation in patients who received hydroxychloroquine was 59.2% (95%CI: 45.8%-72.6%), and in patients who received biologic disease-modifying anti-rheumatic drugs (b-DMARD) was 61.8% (95%CI: 32.7%-90.9%). The adverse outcome rate due to COVID-19 in patients with SLE was 34.1% (95% CI: 4.3%-64%). The rate of adverse outcome in SLE patients diagnosed with COVID-19 who received glucocorticoid was 22.9% (95%CI: 9%-31.5%), and in patients who received hydroxychloroquine was 22.9% (95%CI: 0.1%-45.7%, Figure 1). Conclusion(s): Patients with SLE had a higher risk of COVID-19. Anti-rheumatic drugs may help reduce the prevalence and overall rate of adverse outcomes of COVID-19. Figure 1.
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Purpose: The pandemic of novel coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) caused by the emerging severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (sars-cov- 2) has become a global health crisis (WHO, 2020b), leading to large number of infections and deaths. Autoimmune rheumatic diseases (ARD) are characterized by immune dysfunction and more susceptible to infection. The prevalence of COVID-19 in ARD patients was estimated by means of meta-analysis, and the effect of the use of anti-rheumatic drugs on the clinical outcome of ARD patients with COVID-19 was investigated. Method(s): Cross-sectional investigations and case series on ARD and COVID-19 published by CBM, CNKI, China Science and Technology Journal Database, Wan Fang Data, PubMed, Embase, Web of Science, Cochrane Library and Medline from its establishment to June 26, 2022 were searched. Random effects model was used to pool data. Heterogeneity and risk of bias was examined with I-squared index (I2) statistic. Egger tests were used for the evaluation of potential publication bias (STATA v.12.0). Result(s): A total of 65 studies comprising 135 515 patients were identified. Overall prevalence of COVID-19 in ARD patients was 5.4% (95%CI: 4.3%-6.5%). The hospitalisation rate due to COVID-19 was 35.9% (95% CI: 28.3%-43.4%). The hospitalisation rates for ARD patients diagnosed with COVID-19 who received glucocorticoid was 35.9% (95%CI: 31.4%-40.4%). The rates of hospitalisation in patients who received hydroxychloroquine was 39.9% (95%CI: 34.5%-45.3%), and in patients who received biologic disease-modifying anti-rheumatic drugs (b-DMARD) was 38.1% (95%CI: 33.6%-42.5%), which were both higher than total hospitalisation. The mortality due to COVID-19 in patients with ARD was 6.0% (95% CI: 5.1%-6.8%). The mortality in ARD patients diagnosed with COVID-19 who received glucocorticoid was 5.3% (95%CI: 4.3%-6.2%), and in patients who received b-DMARD was 5.8% (95%CI: 4.9%-6.7%). Mortality rates for patients who received hydroxychloroquine was 5.2% (95%CI: 4.2%-6.2%) (Figure 1). Conclusion(s): Patients with ARD had a higher risk of COVID-19. Use of glucocorticoids decrease mortality in these patients suffered from COVID-19 infection. Though patients had a higher hospitalisation rates but lower mortality among patients prescribed b-DMARD or hydroxychloroquine. (Figure Presented).
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The COVID-19 pandemic has been a great challenge to society, the economy, and population health. It has become a significant public health event and social problem. Exploring the impact of COVID-19 on the accessibility of outdoor sports venues is crucial for people's health. Based on spatial theory, the quantitative and qualitative analyses of outdoor sports venues' spatial distribution and accessibility were conducted, and the epidemic's impact on them was analyzed. The results show that: (1) The existing outdoor sports venues in Nanchang show a distribution pattern of "sparse in the north and south, and strong aggregation in the middle”. (2) As a result of the epidemic, the center of the standard deviation ellipse in outdoor sports sites shifted to the southeast, while the number of open venues decreased by 68%. (3) Before COVID-19, the entire study area could achieve full coverage by driving for 17 min, riding for 70 min, or walking for 119 min. After COVID-19, the time increased to 29, 109, and 193 min, respectively. (4) Under the high-risk scenario of COVID-19, the average walking time for people to reach outdoor sports venues increased from 6.2 min to 14.0 min in the study area, with an increase of 126%. Finally, according to the findings of this study, recommendations were made on how government departments could build or re-open outdoor sports venues during and after this epidemic. © 2023 by the authors.
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INTRODUCTION: Since the early pandemic, prone positioning (PP) has been broadly utilized for non-intubated COVID-19 patients, but results from recently published randomized controlled trials (RCTs) are contradictory. We aimed to systematically synthesize the outcomes associated with PP for non-intubated COVID-19 patients. METHOD(S): Two independent groups of researchers searched MEDLINE, Embase, PubMed, Web of Science, Scopus, and ClinicalTrials.gov for RCTs of PP in nonintubated adult patients with COVID-19 and published in English from January 1st, 2020 to July 1st, 2022. The same two independent groups extracted the data and assessed the risk of bias. We used a random-effects meta-analysis to pool individual studies and the GRADE approach to assess certainty/quality of the evidence. The primary outcome was the reported cumulative intubation risk, while secondary outcomes included mortality, need for escalating respiratory support, hospital length of stay, ICU admission, and adverse events. The study protocol was prospectively registered with PROSPERO, CRD42022343625. RESULT(S): 12 RCTs with 2,886 patients were included. For non-intubated COVID-19 patients, PP significantly reduced the intubation risk (risk ratio [RR] 0.85, 95%CI 0.75 to 0.96), compared to supine position. Subgroup analysis showed a significant reduction in intubation risk among patients supported by high-flow nasal cannula (HFNC) or noninvasive ventilation (NIV) (RR 0.83, 95%CI 0.73 to 0.94) but not in patients with conventional oxygen therapy (RR 1.02, 95%CI 0.67 to 1.56). No significant reduction was seen in mortality (RR 0.96, 95%CI 0.82 to 1.13), need for escalating respiratory support (RR 1.03, 95%CI 0.77 to 1.37), hospital length of stay (MD 0.35 days, 95%CI -0.57 to 1.26), ICU admission (RR 0.75, 95%CI 0.51 to 1.10), and adverse events. No obvious risk of bias and publication bias was found for the primary outcome. CONCLUSION(S): In non-intubated COVID-19 patients, PP reduced the need for intubation, in particular among those requiring respiratory support with HFNC or NIV, but did not reduce mortality, need for escalating respiratory support, hospital length of stay, and ICU admission.
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Knowing the multi-level influences of determinants on medical-service resumptions is of great benefits to the policymaking for medical-service recovery at different levels of study units during the post-COVID-19 pandemic era. This article evaluated the hospital- and city-level resumptions of medical services in mainland China based on the data of location-based service (LBS) requests of mobile devices during the two time periods (December 2019 and from February 21 to March 18, 2020). We selected medical-service capacity, human movement, epidemic severity, and socioeconomic factors as the potential determinants on medical-service resumptions and then explicitly assessed their multi-level explanatory powers and the interactive effects of paired determinants using the geographical detector method. The results indicate that various determinants had different individual explanatory powers and interactive relationships/effects at different levels of medical-service resumptions. The current study provides a novel multi-level insight for assessing work resumption and individual/interactive influences of determinants, and considerable implications for regionalized recovery strategies of medical services.
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Background and/or Objectives: Our aim is to retrospectively evaluate the efficacy of our cardiopulmonary phase II hybrid program, which was created as an alternative to traditional, in-person phase II programs during the COVID-19 pandemic. Our hypothesis is that patients who enrolled and completed the hybrid program will demonstrate improvement in cardiopulmonary functional outcomes. Findings from this study will help inform project team members who can maintain or otherwise modify the hybrid program with the support of the PM&R Service Chief. Design(s): Our preliminary analysis included chart review and retrospective comparison of 22 patients' baseline and discharge 6-minute walk tests (6MWT), Duke Activity Status Index (DASI), weight, and exercise time. Pre-and post-rehab data will be compared with paired ttests. Level of significance (alpha) will be set at < 0.05. Additionally, age, sex, referring clinic, and primary/ secondary diagnoses were included for ongoing comparison. Setting(s): Veterans Affairs hospital for in-person appointments and virtual home-based setting for telerehabilitation component. Participant(s): Veterans who enrolled and completed the hybrid program between 9/1/2020-6/31/2021. Intervention(s): Retrospective chart review, interventions not applicable. Main Outcome Measure(s): Pre-and post-rehab functional outcome measures, including the 6-minute walk test and Duke Activity Status Index (DASI), will be compared. Secondary measures include weight change and exercise time following program completion. Result(s): In our preliminary data, 58% of patients demonstrated some level of improvement in the 6MWT. 50% achieved a favorable weight change and 64% showed improvement in the DASI. 100% of patients were able to increase duration of exercise time. A statistically significant difference (p < 0.05) was observed between pre- and post-rehab exercise tolerance time as well as the DASI. Conclusion(s): If further analyses are consistent with these findings, the results will guide future practice. Preliminary data indicate the hybrid program did not lead to statistically significant improvements in 6MWT or weight but did significantly improve exercise time and activity status level.
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At the beginning of 2020, due to the sudden outbreak of COVID-19, education in China was disrupted. The Chinese government has strongly supported online education, while the music education industry has also adopted a "Suspension of class but no suspension of learning " plan. Universities have also carried out online classroom practices, which has also opened a new door to online piano teaching in universities in China. The feasibility of online piano teaching in daily classrooms of universities in China is something worth researching
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Remote delivery approaches to laboratory courses in the response to the COVID-19 pandemic have included a spectrum spanning passive options such as providing students with prerecorded videos of experiments to replacing in-person laboratory experiences with immersive virtual reality environments. While interactive activities that require students to make choices about experimental design or procedure, mimicking levels of inquiry present in in-person laboratory experiments, are preferred, creating custom activities of this type often require expensive equipment, a media production team, and knowledge of multiple programming languages. The open source, nonlinear storytelling platform, Twine, provides a free alternative that allows instructors to create custom interactive choose-your-own-adventure activities based on their existing laboratory curriculum and inclusive of text, images, and video clips. We used Twine to create a choose-your-own-adventure laboratory activity as the final experiment in a remote delivery format organic chemistry laboratory course that allowed students to obtain customized data based on their experimental choices. We expanded this work to create an entire course of Twine choose-your-own-adventure laboratory activities for a third term organic chemistry laboratory course. ©
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This study aims to use the WELL Building Standard (v2), an internationally recognised rating system for health & wellbeing in buildings, to perform a qualitative and quantitative analysis of the effect of wellbeing measures on an office building's energy use in three different climates. The qualitative analysis was based on literature review and engineering rules of thumb to assess the potential energy impact of WELL's 120 features. The preliminary results show: of the 59 preconditional parts;68% have a negligible energy impact, 19% have a potential energy penalty, 5% have a potential energy benefit;and for the remaining 8% the influence varies depending on the design and local climate;of the 235 optimisation sub-points: 61% have a negligible effect, 10% have a potential penalty, 11% have a potential benefit and 18% vary depending on the design and climate. Most of the WELL v2 features influence operational policies and material selections, and therefore have a negligible effect on energy. However, certain criteria related to Air, Light and Thermal Comfort can directly affect the building's energy usage, including some features which are directly related to combating a health crisis such as the COVID-19 pandemic. According to the further quantitative analysis, individual WELL features would have an energy impact of between +9% (energy penalty) to -11% (energy saving). When combining all of the `energy penalty features' and `energy saving features', the result led to 53-78% more annual energy use and 20-28% energy saving, respectively depending on the climate. When reflecting this on the LEED 4.1 assessment, the effect on LEED energy credits is less significant. Overall, through the appropriate design optimisation processes, and the consideration of the climatic context, the balance between the energy performance and health benefit for office buildings is likely to be achieved.
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We developed an application for Nikko National Park, which offers natural scenery with marshlands, streams, and hot springs. People living in cities tend to visit rural areas after COVID-19. However, they know little about local plants, insects and other creatures of the forest. Some internet map has little information about such rural areas, too. In addition, tourists sometimes cannot use the Internet in the deep forest. The signal is weak. Therefore, we developed an application which they can use the application without internet access. We set solar Bluetooth Low Energy (BLE) beacons on the boards among the national park's woody roads. It sends them messages and is needless to make a group with a tour guide using our application. This application brings people to live environmentally friendly according to be interested in nature on and after COVID-19.
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BACKGROUND: The intersection of the opioid overdose epidemic and COVID-19 pandemic has prompted major regulatory changes to ease access to medications for opioid use disorder via telemedicine. We examined the impact of COVID-19-related health care changes on access to buprenorphine (BUP) by age, gender, insurance category, and prescriber specialty using a nationwide longitudinal prescription database. METHODS: We used an interrupted time series design with IQVIA LRx, a longitudinal database with >90% of all prescriptions dispensed in the US. The study timeline included BUP prescriptions from 52 weeks before (2/23/19- 2/21/20) to 52 weeks after (3/28/20-4/2/21) the initial pandemic period (2/22/ 20-3/27/20). The outcome of interest was total milligrams (MG) of BUP available per week nationwide. We used the CMS NPI database to assign prescriber specialty. Segmented regression was used to estimate relative changes in BUP prescribing at 1, 26, and 52 weeks post- initial-pandemic period compared to the expected baseline trend. We also evaluated treatment disruptions (a gap of 28 days) in previously stable patients, defined as ≥6 months of BUP prescriptions without a treatment disruption. RESULTS: A total of 31,801,061 prescriptions were included. The number of patients with an active BUP prescription was increasing in the 52 weeks prepandemic (trend: 1252 pat./wk.) and increased significantly in the 1st week post- initial-pandemic period (level change: 25786, p<0.001). The total MG BUP dispensed increased at 1, 26, and 52 weeks compared to the expected baseline trend (5.3% [4.9, 5.7], 3.3% [2.8, 3.8], 1.2% [0.48, 1.9]), as did the mean days supplied (9.3% [8.7, 9.9], 4.9% [4.3, 5.5], 6.3% [5.4, 7.3]). Stablytreated patients saw a significant decrease in treatment disruptions at 52 weeks post-initial-pandemic period (-28.4% [-33.7, -23.0]) compared to the expected baseline trend. Older age groups (40+) experienced an increase inMG BUP at 52 weeks (40-49: 4.9 [3.9, 5.9];50-64: 3.0 [0.75, 5.2];65+: 4.5 [3.4, 5.6]), while people aged 18-29 saw a significant decrease in MG BUP (-16.5 [-24.1, -8.8]). Men retained a significant increase in MG BUP compared to women at 52 weeks (1.7% [1.0, 2.4] v 0.5% [-0.34, 1.3]). People with Medicaid had a significant increase in MG BUP at 52 weeks (9.6% [7.7, 11.6]) while people paying with cash (-10.1 [-12.3, -7.9]) and commercial insurance (-4.6 [-5.7, -3.4]) saw significant decreases compared to the expected baseline trend. APPs, compared to physician specialties, had a notable increase in MG BUP dispensed at 1, 26, and 52 weeks (10.0 [8.8, 11.2], 7.1 [5.9, 8.4], 2.8 [0.13, 5.4]). CONCLUSIONS: In the year after the initial COVID-19 pandemic period, patients received longer prescriptions of BUP and overall increased total MG BUP. Stably-treated patients experienced fewer treatment disruptions. Regulatory changes around BUP prescribing may have helped patients maintain access to MOUD during the pandemic.
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Air cargo plays an important role in supporting global supply chains;this becomes more vital when facing uncertainties in a crisis such as the COVID-19 pandemic. This motivates our study on air cargo forwarding plans, considering demand uncertainties and economic conditions. Cargos are placed into air containers based on weights and volumes, and then flown from regional collection points into a hub, for consolidation before transporting to onward destinations. Decisions are made in advance by cargo forwarders as to the containers to book, both in regions and in the hub, since airlines offer discounts on containers booked in advance;however, cargo quantities are uncertain when advance bookings are made. We develop a two-stage stochastic programming model, where the first stage determines both the quantities and types of air containers to book;the second stage deals with ordering any extra containers, at higher cost, or returning unused containers, as well as making loading and consolidation plans. The objective is to minimise the total expected costs. We then extend it into a multistage case and design a genetic algorithm as the solution method. Experimental results demonstrate that the proposed approaches provide a cost-efficient plan and responsive to demand as it arises. © 2022 The Author(s). Published by Informa UK Limited, trading as Taylor & Francis Group.
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Mass suspension of anthropogenic activities is extremely rare, the quarantine due to the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) represents a natural experiment to investigate the impact of anthropogenic activities on air quality. The mitigation of air pollution during the COVID-19 lock-down has been reported from a global perspective;however, the air pollution levels vary in different regions. This study initiated a novel synthesis of multiple-year satellite observations, national ground measurements towards SO2, NO2 and O3 and meteorological conditions to evaluate the impact of the COVID-19 lockdown in Beihai, a specific city in a less developed area in southwest China, to reveal the potential implications of control strategies for air pollution. The levels of the major air pollutants during the COVID-19 lockdown (LP) and during the same period of previous years (SP) were compared and a series of statistical tools were applied to analyze the sources of air pollution in Beihai. The results show that air pollutant levels decreased with substantial diversity during the LP. Satellite-retrieved NO2 and SO2 levels during the LP decreased by 5.26% and 22.06%, while NO2, SO2, PM2.5 and PM10 from ground measurements during the LP were 25.6%, 2.7%, 22.2% and 22.2% lower than during SP, respectively. Ground measured SO2 concentrations during the LP were only 2.7% lower than during the SP, which may be attributed to uninterrupted essential industrial activ-ities, such as power plants. Polar plots analysis shows that NO2 concentrations were strongly associated with local emission sources, such as automobiles and local industry. Additionally, the much lower levels of NO2 concentrations during the LP and the absence of an evening peak may highlight the significant impact of the traffic sector on NO2. The decrease in daily mean O3 concentrations during the LP may be associated with the reduction in NO2 concentrations. Indications in this study could be beneficial for the formulation of atmospheric protection policies. © 2022 by the authors. Licensee MDPI, Basel, Switzerland.
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Purpose: Given the disruption of the COIVD-19 pandemic in higher education, this study seeks to understand possible changes in students’ ratings and textual reviews of higher education institutions posted on Niche College Rankings (niche.com) prior to and after the COVID-19 pandemic. Design/methodology/approach: This study utilized a text analytics technique to identify the positive and negative keywords of students’ sentiments expressed in their textual reviews provided on niche.com. After identifying the positive and negative sentimental keywords, this study performed ordinal logistic regressions and analyzed the statistical effects of these positive and negative sentimental keywords on the types of student ratings of a higher education institution. Findings: Results from 15,666 online reviews provided by students on niche.com indicate the following. First, eight positive sentimental keywords such as “outstanding” and “love” have a significant impact on students’ positive ratings of a higher education institution prior to COVID-19, whereas eight positive sentimental keywords such as “amazing” and helpful” have a significant impact on students’ positive ratings of a higher education institution after COVID-19. Second, twenty-eight negative sentimental keywords such as “difficult” and “frustrating” have a significant impact on students’ negative ratings of a higher education institution prior to COVID-19, whereas thirty negative sentimental keywords such as “complex” and “hate” have a significant impact on student negative ratings of a higher education institution after COVID-19. Originality/value: This study is one of the first few studies investigating higher education institution ratings and reviews provided by students. Additionally, this study provides an understanding of student positive and negative sentiments expressed in textual reviews posted prior to and after the COVID-19 pandemic. By doing so, this study provides a basis for future research seeking to understand student textual reviews of higher education institutions. Additionally, this study offers higher education administrators some recommendations that may foster student positive campus experience while minimizing negative sentiments. © 2022, Emerald Publishing Limited.