Exploring the influence of e-Service Quality toward Customer Engagement Behavior via PLS-SEM: Findings from a hotel's customer perspective

Covid-19 has a significant impact on the hotel's operations. The reopening process has begun, especially on the hotel website. Therefore, the hotel industry must understand the need to influence customers' choices through advanced I.T. This study is intended to explore the effect of t e-service quality on customer engagement behaviors via the SEM method with the PLS estimation technique with 247 respondents. The findings indicate that system availability is the most significant influence influencing customer engagement behaviors, followed by system efficiency, system privacy/security, and system fulfillment. This finding will help the hotel's manager boost customer engagement.

Predicting hospital emergency department visits with deep learning approaches

Overcrowding in emergency department (ED) causes lengthy waiting times, reduces ade-quate emergency care and increases rate of mortality. Accurate prediction of daily ED visits and allocating resources in advance is one of the solutions to ED overcrowding problem. In this paper, a deep stacked architecture is being proposed and applied to the daily ED visits prediction problem with deep components such as Long Short Term Memory (LSTM), Gated Recurrent Units (GRU) and simple Recurrent Neural Network (RNN). The proposed architec-ture achieves very high mean accuracy level (94.28-94.59%) in daily ED visits predictions. We have also compared the performance of this architecture with non-stacked deep mod-els and traditional prediction models. The results indicate that deep stacked models out-perform (4-7%) the traditional prediction models and other non-stacked deep learning models (1-2%) in our prediction tasks. The application of deep neural network in ED visits prediction is novel as this is one of the first studies to apply a deep stacked architecture in this field. Importantly, our models have achieved better prediction accuracy (in one case comparable) than the state-of-the-art in the literature.(c) 2022 Published by Elsevier B.V. on behalf of Nalecz Institute of Biocybernetics and Bio-medical Engineering of the Polish Academy of Sciences.

Management of OHCA during COVID-19: A tale of two cities

Background: Regional variations in the impact of the coronavirus disease-2019 (COVID-19) pandemic on out-of-hospital cardiac arrest (OHCA) have been reported. We aimed to examine differences in the community response, emergency medical services (EMS) interventions, and outcomes of OHCA, in Singapore (population 5.7 million) and Atlanta (population 4.16 million), before and during the pandemic. Methods: Using prospectively collected Singapore Pan-Asian Resuscitation Outcomes Study (PAROS) and Atlanta Cardiac Arrest Registry to Enhance Survival (CARES) data, we compared EMS-treated adult OHCAs (≥18 years) during the pandemic period (17weeks from the date of first confirmed COVID-19 case) and pre-pandemic period (corresponding weeks in 2019). The primary outcome was pre-hospital return of spontaneous circulation (ROSC). We reported adjusted odds ratios (aOR) for OHCA characteristics, pre-hospital interventions, and outcomes using binary logistic regression. Results: Of the 3987 EMS-treated OHCAs (overall median age 69 years, 60.1% males) in Singapore and Atlanta, 2084 occurred during the pandemic and 1903 during the pre-pandemic period. Compared with Atlanta, OHCA cases in Singapore were older (median age 72 vs 66 years), received more bystander interventions (65.1% vs 41.4% received cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR) and 28.4% vs 10.1% had automated external defibrillator application), yet observed less pre-hospital ROSC (11.3% vs 27.1%). When compared with the pre-pandemic period, the likelihood of residential OHCAs doubled in both cities during the pandemic;in Singapore, OHCAs were more likely to be witnessed (aOR 1.95, 95% confidence interval (CI), 1.59-2.39) yet less likely to receive CPR (aOR 0.81, 95% CI, 0.65-0.99) during the pandemic. OHCAs occurring during the pandemic, compared with pre-pandemic, were less likely to be transported in Singapore and Atlanta (aOR 0.50, 95% CI, 0.42%-0.85%, and 0.36, 95% CI, 0.26-0.50, respectively), without significant differences in overall pre-hospital ROSC. Conclusion: Changes in OHCA characteristics and pre-hospital interventions during the pandemic were likely collateral consequences, with regional variations partly reflecting differences in systems of care and other sociocultural factors. These highlight opportunities for public education and the need for further study into lower transport rates during the pandemic.

Utilisation of telehealth in cardiac rehabilitation-patient perspectives

Objectives: Cardiac rehabilitation (CR) exercise classes in Singapore were either cancelled or suspended due to the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic. In response, a hybrid CR programme utilising telehealth was created to reduce reliance on in-person sessions. Our study aimed to assess early patients' impressions of this novel CR delivery method. Methods: Each hybrid CR programme comprises: (a) one CR orientation session via the Zoom video conferencing platform where patients interact with CR nurses and physiotherapists, (b) two 6-minute walk test fitness assessments (at baseline and upon completion), (c) five in-person supervised exercise classes and (d) two teleconsultation sessions (scheduled after exercise sessions 2 and 4) where CR physiotherapists review symptoms and discuss exercise prescriptions with patients over the phone. Upon programme completion, patients filled 2 anonymous online questionnaires - one assessing the videoconferencing component and another assessing the teleconsultation component and overall programme. Results: Seven patients underwent the hybrid CR programme. The majority were male (n=6, 86%), aged between 51 to 65 years (n=4, 57%) and had previously used a wide range of mobile applications (n=6, 86%). 100% of patients either agreed or strongly agreed that both videoconferencing and teleconsultation were: (a) easy to use, (b) as valuable as in-person sessions, (c) saved time and (d) had lower infection risk compared to in-person sessions (Figure). The overall ratings for videoconferencing, teleconsultation and the hybrid programme were 9.3, 9.6 and 9.6 (out of 10) respectively. All patients would definitely recommend the programme to others. Conclusion: Responses by participants of a novel hybrid CR programme utilising telehealth are highly encouraging. From a patient perspective, incorporation of telehealth to enable remote CR is feasible, acceptable and should be considered as an alternative CR delivery method.

Impact of the covid-19 pandemic on the epidemiology of out-of-hospital cardiac arrest: A systematic review and meta-analysis

Introduction: The coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic has influenced epidemiology through direct and indirect effects, yet the impact on out-of-hospital cardiac arrest (OHCA) is unclear. We aimed to evaluate the impact of the pandemic on the incidence, characteristics, and clinical outcomes of OHCA. Hypothesis: We hypothesized that compared to the pre-pandemic period, the COVID-19 pandemic period was associated with increased incidence and case fatality rate (CFR) of OHCA, as well as decreased rates of intermediate clinical outcomes (termination of resuscitation [TOR], return of spontaneous circulation [ROSC], survival to hospital admission, and survival to hospital discharge). We further postulated that there was a change in the etiologies of OHCA during the pandemic as well as a decline in the rate of shockable rhythm as the initial presenting rhythm. Methods: In this systematic review and meta-analysis, five scientific databases were searched from inception to May 3, 2021. Meta-analyses were performed for the primary outcomes, secondary outcomes, and clinical characteristics. This study was registered in the International Prospective Register of Systematic Reviews (PROSPERO) (CRD42021253879). Results: The search yielded 966 articles. 20 articles were included for analysis. The COVID-19 pandemic was associated with a 39.5% increase in pooled annual OHCA incidence (p<0.001). Pooled CFR was increased by 2.65% (p<0.001), with an odds ratio (OR) of 1.95 for mortality (95% confidence interval [95%CI] 1.51-2.51). There was increased field TOR (OR=2.46, 95%CI 1.62- 3.74). There were decreased ROSC (OR=0.65, 95%CI 0.55-0.77), survival to hospital admission (OR=0.65, 95%CI 0.48-0.89), and survival to discharge (OR=0.52, 95%CI 0.40-0.69). There was decreased shockable rhythm (OR=0.73, 95%CI 0.60-0.88) and increased asphyxial etiology of OHCA (OR=1.17, 95%CI 1.02-1.33). There was moderate-to-high statistical heterogeneity. Findings were robust to sensitivity analyses, with no publication bias detected. Conclusions: The COVID-19 pandemic was associated with significant changes in OHCA epidemiology. Compared to the pre-pandemic period, the pandemic period was associated with increased OHCA incidence and worse outcomes.

Impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on a tertiary care public hospital in Singapore: resources and economic costs.

BACKGROUND: The COVID-19 pandemic has prompted hospitals to respond with stringent measures. Accurate estimates of costs and resources used in outbreaks can guide evaluations of responses. We report on the financial expenditure associated with COVID-19, the bed-days used for COVID-19 patients and hospital services displaced due to COVID-19 in a Singapore tertiary hospital. METHODS: We conducted a retrospective cost analysis from January to December 2020 in the largest public hospital in Singapore. Costs were estimated from the hospital perspective. We examined financial expenditures made in direct response to COVID-19; hospital admissions data related to COVID-19 inpatients; and the number of outpatient and emergency department visits, non-emergency surgeries, inpatient days in 2020, compared with preceding years of 2018 and 2019. Bayesian time-series was used to estimate the magnitude of displaced services. RESULTS: USD $41.96 million was incurred in the hospital for COVID-19-related expenses. Facilities set-up and capital assets accounted for 51.6% of the expenditure; patient-care supplies comprised 35.1%. Of the 19,611 inpatients tested for COVID-19 in 2020, 727 (3.7%) had COVID-19. The total inpatient- and intensive care unit (ICU)-days for COVID-19 patients in 2020 were 8009 and 8 days, respectively. A decline in all hospital services was observed from February following a raised disease outbreak alert level; most services quickly resumed when the lockdown was lifted in June. CONCLUSION: COVID-19 led to an increase in healthcare expenses and a displacement in hospital services. Our findings are useful for informing economic evaluations of COVID-19 response and provide some information about the expected costs of future outbreaks.

Hyperinflammatory syndrome in a patient with rheumatoid arthritis and COVID-19

Case report-IntroductionSevere acute respiratory coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) is a novel virus that can lead to an excessive immune activation and cytokine response known as Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) which predominantly affects the lungs. Patients with chronic inflammatory disease on biological immunosuppressive treatments may be at a higher risk of contracting SARS-CoV-2. However, it is yet to be determined whether immunomodulatory medications used in inflammatory diseases have protective capabilities against severe outcomes.Case report-Case descriptionA 51-year old female with a 13-year history of rheumatoid arthritis (RA) presented to hospital with fever, exertional breathlessness, and a non-productive cough. She was diagnosed with seropositive erosive RA at the age of 38 and was on 6-monthly Rituximab infusions and Leflunomide on admission. She had relatively stable pulmonary fibrosis (diagnosed in 2010). Her chest CTs in 2010 and 2018 noted bilateral basal subpleural ground glass change with limited honeycombing and spirometry study revealed FEV1 of 2.2 (82% predicted), VC of 2.7 (87% predicted), DLCO of 7.0 (78% predicted) and kCO of 1.6 (78% predicted).On admission in March 2020, she was hypoxic (oxygen saturation of 88% in room air) and had raised inflammatory markers (CRP 341mg/dL, d-Dimer 914ng/ml, Ferritin 3141ng/ml, LDH 672U/L). Her last Rituximab infusion was 3 months prior and leflunomide was withheld on admission. SARS-CoV-2 PCR nasopharyngeal swab was positive, and she was recruited to the RECOVERY trial, being randomized to Lopinavir-Ritonavir for 10 days. Her oxygen requirements increased, and a CT pulmonary angiogram excluded pulmonary embolism but revealed ground glass changes and extensive multilobar consolidation. She was eligible for recruitment into RECOVERY-2 (tocilizumab) given the ongoing oxygen requirement and elevated CRP, but she was randomised to usual care. She was commenced on 80mg of IV methylprednisolone, a dose chosen because of its proven effectiveness in Acute Respiratory Distress Syndrome. She clinically improved and was discharged from hospital 20 days after starting Methylprednisolone with a CRP of 17mg/dL.Two months after discharge, the patient had repeat spirometry study which noted FEV1 of 1.4 (57% predicted), VC of 1.5 (52% predicted), DLCO of 2.4 (28% predicted) and kCO of 1.0 (47% predicted). A repeat high-resolution chest CT reported significant improvement of peripheral ground glass changes and consolidation, but she is still fatigued and more breathless than previously.Case report-DiscussionThe RECOVERY trial concluded that Dexamethasone reduced mortality in intubated patients and in hospitalised patients with COVID-19 with a high oxygen requirement. The results were published after this patient was discharged.A hyperinflammatory response to COVID-19 is seen in a subset of patients, and our own hospital data suggest that this condition affects around 5% of admitted COVID-19 patients, but that extreme hyperferritinaemia above 10,000 is extremely rare. Similar responses (known as Haemophagocytic Lymphohistiocytosis [HLH]) are seen with a variety of viral and bacterial infections, in malignancy and in inflammatory rheumatic diseases (Macrophage Activation Syndrome [MAS]), but typically HLH and MAS patients have ferritin > 10,000.It appears unlikely that true HLH is a significant manifestation of COVID-19 infection, but moderate hyperferritinaemia is not uncommon and the results of this study, taken together with case reports and series from China and Italy suggest that similar treatments to those used in HLH may transform the prognosis for COVID-19 patients in this subset.It is unknown whether the recent Rituximab infusion had a role in reducing the "cytokine storm" and delaying progression to severe COVID-19. However, it may be argued that the remaining T cells in B cell depleted patients are sufficient for viral clearance.The long-term impact of SARS-CoV-2 on pulmonary function is still unclear. Our patient had a major deterioration in her lung function when ompared to her baseline. There was severe reduction in gas transfer post COVID-19. However, her repeat high resolution CT chest reported substantial improvement in ground glass changes and consolidation. The long-term prognosis is still uncertain.Initial fears that patients on DMARDs and biological therapies for inflammatory rheumatic disease would be extremely vulnerable to COVID-19 have not been confirmed, but patients with extra-articular manifestations on combinations of DMARDs and biological therapies may be a subset at higher risk.Case report-Key learning pointsOur Intensivist colleagues, early in the COVID-19 outbreak, were understandably cautious about using heavily immunosuppressive treatments for a life-threatening viral infection. Using a multi-disciplinary approach at a time when knowledge of how to treat this condition was rudimentary, along with informed consent from an intelligent and thoughtful patient, we were able to plot a middle path to suppress hyperinflammation without using massively immunosuppressive doses of steroid, with a successful outcome.This patient illustrates one aspect of the hyper-inflammatory response seen in a subset of the most critically ill patients with COVID-19. At the time of writing, the RECOVERY 2 trial is yet to be published, but the rapid improvement in inflammatory markers including CRP and Ferritin, along with a dramatic improvement in clinical state, suggest that relatively modest doses of parenteral steroid have life-saving potential at far lower cost and greater worldwide availability than biological therapies such as Tocilizumab or Anakinra.Trials of Tocilizumab in RECOVERY2 and of Anakinra coordinated by the Hyperinflammation Histio UK Haemophagocytosis Across Specialty Collaboration (HASC), as well as international randomised controlled trials will be critical in determining the optimal treatment strategy for this subset of critically ill COVID-19 patients. The experience of our patient suggests that one arm of such studies should include a relatively modest dose of parenteral steroid, be that Dexamethasone or Methylprednisolone, particularly given that COVID-19 is affecting countries across the developing, as well as the developed, world.

Immersive Experience during Covid-19: The Mediator Role of Alternative Assessment in Online Learning Environment

The Covid-19 epidemic has transformed the educational scene, hence altering the learning experience of students. The traditional face-to-face classroom has evolved into a synchronous online mode that requires minimum technology literacy. Their capability for absorption of information may be compromised under massive scenarios encountered throughout the acquisition of information. This article examines the function of alternative assessment in structured learning activities with the goal of deconstructing their learning competence and fostering complex interaction. The research focuses on the relationship between numerous aspects and students' online learning experiences, notably during the pandemic. An online survey was performed with 312 respondents who utilised the Blackboard online learning platform and a PLS-SEM analysis indicated that an alternative assessment mediated the relationship of learning readiness, student engagement, and student motivation toward student learning experience simultaneously. In conclusion, our study reinforces the vital need of addressing the mediator role of alternative assessment to enhance the learning experience and, hence, success in online classes. © 2021. All Rights Reserved.

Dental education continuity during the covid-19 pandemic – experience at national dental centre singapore

Introduction: The novel severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) has caused the COVID-19 pandemic which started in 2020. This resulted in a disruption to educational activities across the globe. Dental education, in particular, was affected because of its vocational nature where learners come into close contact with patients when performing dental procedures. Methods: This is a narrative review with no research data analysis involved. Results: Social distancing measures introduced to curb the spread of the infection revolutionised the advancement of online education as the virtual environment is a safer place to conduct teaching compared to face-to-face teaching. In this article, we share our experience at the National Dental Centre Singapore (NDCS) in ensuring the safety of our faculty and learners when conducting didactic and clinical education during the pandemic. Didactic lectures were conducted in the virtual environment via synchronous and non-synchronous teaching. Essential clinical education was conducted in small groups with safe management measures in place. In addition, we provide guidelines to highlight the importance of meticulous planning, thorough preparation, and seamless delivery in conducting effective synchronous teaching. Conclusion: Safe management measures put in place to ensure the well-being of our faculty and learners can ensure dental education continuity during the pandemic. © 2021 TAPS. All rights reserved.

Social Frailty and Executive Function: Association with Geriatric Syndromes, Life Space and Quality of Life in Healthy Community-Dwelling Older Adults.

BACKGROUND: Despite emerging evidence about the association between social frailty and cognitive impairment, little is known about the role of executive function in this interplay, and whether the co-existence of social frailty and cognitive impairment predisposes to adverse health outcomes in healthy community-dwelling older adults. OBJECTIVES: We aim to examine independent associations between social frailty with the MMSE and FAB, and to determine if having both social frailty and cognitive impairment is associated with worse health outcomes than either or neither condition. METHODS: We studied 229 cognitively intact and functionally independent community-dwelling older adults (mean age= 67.2±7.43). Outcome measures comprise physical activity; physical performance and frailty; geriatric syndromes; life space and quality of life. We compared Chinese Mini Mental State Examination (CMMSE) and Chinese Frontal Assessment Battery (FAB) scores across the socially non-frail, socially pre-frail and socially frail. Participants were further recategorized into three subgroups (neither, either or both) based on presence of social frailty and cognitive impairment. Cognitive impairment was defined as a score below the educational adjusted cut-offs in either CMMSE or FAB. We performed logistic regression adjusted for significant covariates and mood to examine association with outcomes across the three subgroups. RESULTS: Compared with CMMSE, Chinese FAB scores significantly decreased across the social frailty spectrum (p<0.001), suggesting strong association between executive function with social frailty. We derived three subgroups relative to relationship with socially frailty and executive dysfunction: (i) Neither, N=140(61.1%), (ii) Either, N=79(34.5%), and (iii) Both, N=10(4.4%). Compared with neither or either subgroups, having both social frailty and executive dysfunction was associated with anorexia (OR=4.79, 95% CI= 1.04-22.02), near falls and falls (OR= 5.23, 95% CI= 1.10-24.90), lower life-space mobility (odds ratio, OR=9.80, 95% CI=2.07-46.31) and poorer quality of life (OR= 13.2, 95% CI= 2.38-73.4). CONCLUSION: Our results explicated the association of executive dysfunction with social frailty, and their synergistic relationship independent of mood with geriatric syndromes, decreased life space and poorer quality of life. In light of the current COVID-19 pandemic, the association between social frailty and executive dysfunction merits further study as a possible target for early intervention in relatively healthy older adults.

Occurrence of microplastics and trace metals in fish and shrimp from Songkhla lake, Thailand during the COVID-19 pandemic

The study was carried out in the beginning of May, 2020 during the COVID-19 pandemic lockdown period in Thailand. This study reported on the occurrence of microplastic debris in stomachs of fish (Arius maculatus) and shrimps (Parapenaeopsis hardwickii and Metapenaeus brevicornis) from Songkhla Lake. The average occurrences of microplastic pieces per stomach in fish and shrimps according to 10% digested KOH reagent were 2.73 ± 0.15, 4.11 ± 1.12 and 3.78 ± 1.12, respectively. The most common shape of microplastics in fish and shrimp was fiber. Black was the most frequent color found followed by blue, white and red. Microplastic size found in this study ranged from 150 μm to 5 mm and 70% of microplastic size was less than 1 mm. Five polymer types were reported including polyester, rayon, polyvinyl alcohol, polyethylene and paint. It is worth noting that textile fiber also appeared in stomachs of fish and shrimp. It might have been caused by the fact that during the lockdown period people change their way of life such as doing more laundry thus, releasing more cloth fibers (microplastics) into sewer and lake. This study found anomalous correlation coefficients between the number of microplastic particles in the organisms’ stomachs and most of the metal concentrations in their tissues. © 2021, ALÖKI Kft., Budapest, Hungary.