Co-curricular Engagement of Transfer Students

This is a work-in-progress in the Research category investigating transfer student participation in co-curricular activities. Transfer students at 4-year universities are often considered as secondary-priority students. In this paper, we investigate engineering transfer student participation in co-curricular activities at a predominantly undergraduate polytechnic university. Survey results from Cal Poly in San Luis Obispo, a primarily undergraduate institution on participation in co-curricular activities is presented. We discuss the impact of the COVID pandemic on the survey results, showing that the pandemic has severely decreased participation in co-curricular activities for all students. Survey results also demonstrate a correlation between students to participate in significant co-curricular activities are greater than 20% more likely to attain major-related summer internships than students who do not. Finally, we discuss barriers to co-curricular participation for transfer students, and how the COVID pandemic has impacted this group of students differently than first-time-first-year students. © 2022 IEEE.

Psychological Status in the First-Line Medical Staff Fighting Against COVID-19 in Sichuan (Low-Risk Regions): A Multicenter Cross-Sectional Study

Background: The outbreak of 2019 coronavirus disease (COVID-19) in the world has brought great challenges to Medical system. Medical Staff are facing nonnegligible psychological pressure. The psychological status of medical staff in high-risk regions is widely concerned, but there are few studies in low-risk regions. The study focuses on the psychological status of medical staff and influencing factor during COVID-19 epidemic in low-risk regions. Methods: An online questionnaire survey was conducted for 839 medical staff of several hospitals in Sichuan Province from Feb.4 2020 to Feb.25 2020. The questionnaires include self designed questionnaire, Symptom Checklist 90(SCL-90), Simplified Coping Style Questionnaire (SCSQ) and social Support Rating Scale (SSRS). We did single factor analysis on various factors first, then doing multi factor analysis to get the influencing factors of abnormal psychological status. Results: Out of the first-line medical staff who participated in the survey, 149(17.8%) screened abnormal psychological status, (15.3%) for physical discomfort, (14.5%) for depression, (12.2%) for fear and (16.9%) for hostility such as irritation, fatigued, etc. Participants who had insomnia, contact history of COVID-19 patients, negative coping style, low social support were more likely to be psychological abnormality. After adjusting for gender, age and education, it was found that insomnia (OR 4.58, 95% CI 3.06–6.87, p = 0.000), negative coping style (OR 1.14, 95% CI 1.08–1.20, p = 0.000), are risk factors of abnormal psychological status. Meanwhile, positive coping style (OR 0.93, 95% CI 0.90–0.97, p = 0.000), good subjective support (OR 0.85, 95% CI 0.74–0.96, p = 0.014) and high utilization of support (OR 0.86, 95% CI 0.76–0.97, p = 0.015) are protective factors of psychological status in the first-line medical staff. Conclusions: The first-line anti-epidemic medical staffs in low-risk regions have high rate of abnormal psychological status, especially those with insomnia, low social support and negative coping style. Governments and local health authorities should take timely intervention measures to alleviate symptoms and provide psychological support. Supported by the Project of Science and Technology Department of Sichuan Province (2020ZYD013).

The Deficient Psychological Status of Male Medical Staff in Designated Hospitals During the Early Stage of the COVID-19

Background: Coronavirus disease 2019(COVID-19) is a new acute respiratory infectious disease, which has strong infectivity and general susceptibility. Medical staff participating in COVID-19 are facing enormous mental and psychological pressure. In the early stage of the outbreak, in order to control the epidemic, the COVID-19 designated hospital was established to receive suspected and confirmed patients. This study focused on the mental health status of medical staff in designated hospitals at the early stage of the epidemic. We aimed to provide better psychological assistance for medical staff in designated hospitals. Methods: This study was conducted by using symptom Checklist-90 (SCL-90) through network survey from Feb.4 2020 to Feb.25 2020. The mental health of medical staff in the COVID-19 designated hospital and non-designated hospital in Sichuan Province was investigated. Furthermore, the two-way ANOVA was used to evaluate the impact of the designated hospital and the non-designated hospital and gender on the mental health status of medical staff under the epidemic effect. Results: A total of 948 valid questionnaires were collected. 252 medical staff in designated hospitals completed the questionnaire, including 46 males and 206 females. A total of 696 questionnaires were completed by non-designated hospitals, including 124 males and 572 females. The designated hospital and non-designated hospital were divided into two groups. The group main effects analysis was used to analyze 10 factors of SCL90 in the two groups. The results showed that all factors of SCL90 of medical staff in designated hospitals were higher than those in non-designated hospitals. It includes somatization, obsessive-compulsive, interpersonal sensitivity, depression, anxiety, hostile, phobic, paranoia and psychotic factors. There were interaction effects among the factors of SCL90. The results of post examination showed that there was no gender difference among medical staff in non-designated hospitals. Among the medical staff in designated hospitals, the score of male is higher than that of female. Compared with non-designated hospitals, there are significant differences in interpersonal sensitivity, somatization, anxiety, psychotic, paranoia and the total score of SCL-90 between designated hospitals and non-designated hospitals. There was no significant difference in SCL-90 score between designated hospitals and non-designated hospitals. Conclusions: In the early stage of the outbreak of covid-19, the mental health status of male medical staff in designated hospitals needs more attention, especially in their emotion, interpersonal relationship and physical symptoms. The government should provide them with timely and feasible psychological intervention. Supported by the Project of Science and Technology Department of Sichuan Province (2020ZYD013).

Consistency of Standards and Conformity Assessment: Market Supervision Offers Two Driving Forces for Green Recovery

This paper is to discuss the impact of the consistency of standards and conformity assessment on green recovery with enterprises as the main body, especially the resumption of work and production under the background of COVID-19 epidemic situation and the transformation of export to domestic sales. Special attention is paid to the operation status of enterprises as market entities and the survival status of some multinational enterprises in the gap between standards and conformity assessment. In addition, resposibility of market regulation to improve the consistency of standards and conformity assessment to promote green recovery is also discussed.

Metabolic associated fatty liver disease increases coronavirus disease 2019 disease severity in nondiabetic patients

BACKGROUND AND AIM: Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) has attracted increasing worldwide attention. While diabetes is known to aggravate COVID-19 severity, it is not known whether nondiabetic patients with metabolic dysfunction are also more prone to more severe disease. The association of metabolic associated fatty liver disease (MAFLD) with COVID-19 severity in nondiabetic patients was investigated here. METHODS: The study cohort comprised 65 patients with (i.e. cases) and 65 patients without MAFLD (i.e. controls). Each case was randomly matched with one control by sex (1:1) and age (+/-5 years). The association between the presence of MAFLD (as exposure) and COVID-19 severity (as the outcome) was assessed by binary logistic regression analysis. RESULTS: In nondiabetic patients with COVID-19, the presence of MAFLD was associated with a four-fold increased risk of severe COVID-19;the risk increased with increasing numbers of metabolic risk factors. The association with COVID-19 severity persisted after adjusting for age, sex, and coexisting morbid conditions. CONCLUSION: Health-care professionals caring for nondiabetic patients with COVID-19 should be cognizant of the increased likelihood of severe COVID-19 in patients with MAFLD.

Fast and easy disinfection of coronavirus-contaminated face masks using ozone gas produced by a dielectric barrier discharge plasma generator (preprint)

Face masks are one of the currently available options for preventing the transmission of the severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2), which has caused the 2019 pandemic. However, with the increasing demand for protection, face masks are becoming limited in stock, and the concerned individuals and healthcare workers from many countries are now facing the issue of the reuse of potentially contaminated masks. Although various technologies already exist for the sterilization of medical equipment, most of them are not applicable for eliminating virus from face masks. Thus, there is an urgent need to develop a fast and easy method of disinfecting contaminated face masks. In this study, using a human coronavirus (HCoV-229E) as a surrogate for SARS-CoV-2 contamination on face masks, we show that the virus loses its infectivity to a human cell line (MRC-5) when exposed for a short period of time (1 min) to ozone gas produced by a dielectric barrier discharge plasma generator. Scanning electron microscopy and particulate filtration efficiency (PFE) tests revealed that there was no structural or functional deterioration observed in the face masks even after they underwent excessive exposure to ozone (five 1-minute exposures). Interestingly, for face masks exposed to ozone gas for 5 min, the amplification of HCoV-229E RNA by reverse transcription polymerase chain reaction suggested a loss of infectivity under the effect of ozone, primarily owing to the damage caused to viral envelopes or envelope proteins. Ozone gas is a strong oxidizing agent with the ability to kill viruses on hard-to-reach surfaces, including the fabric structure of face masks. These results suggest that it may be possible to rapidly disinfect contaminated face masks using a plasma generator in a well-ventilated place.