ABSTRACT
Due to the spread of COVID-19, the number of people who experienced the exhibits was less than planned. Nevertheless, we were able to deliver surprises and smiles to the participants at the venues where we could provide the experiences. We believe that these interactions with the advanced technologies of our laboratories, which are not normally accessible to the public, enabled many people to experience firsthand NTT's innovativeness. Going forward, we will continue to work on creating new experiences using ICT and connect people with each other. © 2022 Nippon Telegraph and Telephone Corp.. All rights reserved.
ABSTRACT
Since the recent coronavirus disease 2019 pandemic and the lifestyle changes it necessitated, the demand for mental health treatment has skyrocketed, with long wait lists for both psychological and psychiatric care. Over-the-counter supplements and home remedies are increasingly sought. In this study, we screened natural materials and blended supplements from Asia that may improve the mood and mental health of humans by testing cell viability and expression of the proopiomelanocortin gene as a marker of beta-endorphin production in rat hypothalamus neuron cells. Among 23 tested samples, 3 samples produced significantly higher cell viability in R-HTH-507 cells than the control treatment. In a real-time-polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR) experiment, 7 samples showed significant beta-endorphin synthesis activity. This is the first report that the Asian natural materials Areca catechu, Moringa oleifera, Lignosis rhinocerus, and Aegle marmelos promote beta-endorphin synthesis;further investigation will identify the active ingredients in the blended samples. These results suggested that these Asian natural materials have great potential to expand the range of treatments for mental health. Copyright © The Author(s) 2023.
ABSTRACT
This study aimed to examine the relationship between telecommuting and the regional cumulative COVID-19 incidence. This was a cross-sectional study analyzing 13,468 office workers. The participant groups, according to the level of cumulative COVID-19 incidence by prefecture, were used as the predictor variable, and telecommuting frequency and preference were used as outcomes. We employed an ordinal logistic regression analysis. In regions with a high cumulative COVID-19 incidence, the proportion of participants who telecommuted more than 2 days per week was 34.7%, which was approximately 20% higher than in other regions. Telecommuting preference was stronger in areas with higher COVID-19 influence. However, in other regions, the proportion of participants who did not want to telecommute was higher than that of those who wanted to telecommute. We found that telecommuting frequency and preference were higher in regions with high cumulative COVID-19 incidence.
ABSTRACT
In this chapter, we analyzed the impacts of the COVID-19 outbreak in Brazil, one of the most severely affected countries by the pandemic in the world. We discussed the overall characteristics of the pathogen (SARS-CoV-2) and its diffusion in Brazil over time and its main differences compared to other common infectious diseases in Brazil, such as Dengue and Zika. We then performed quantitative experiments to forecast the trend of confirmed cases and deaths from COVID-19 using a machine learning method for both country and state levels. We also estimated the instantaneous reproducing number over time for each Brazilian state and grouped them into clusters, aiming at identifying the heterogeneity between the Brazilian States. We also analyzed the magnitude of underreporting of COVID-19 cases in Brazil’s most affected states during the early stages of the pandemic. Moreover, we summarized the impacts of the pandemic on Brazil’s economic activities and social life, analyzing the dynamics of macroeconomic indicators, the effectiveness of the emergency financial assistance granted by the Brazilian government, and the relative level of adherence to social distancing in the Brazilian states since the beginning of lockdown measures. Finally, we presented the main challenges for Brazil after the pandemic fades away, focusing on the economic recovery and future public policies. © 2022, The Author(s), under exclusive license to Springer Nature Switzerland AG.