Automated Building of an Environment for Secure Software Development in Web Technologies Courses

This paper investigates the automated building of verified software environments that can be used in university courses. Over the last couple of years, it has become obvious that using online environments, video meetings, virtual lectures, online teaching, and learning is not a matter of choice. The coronavirus pandemic forced all parts of the education systems, and even of life, to go online. Deepening the research and development in the software automation field can lead to using various ways to allow university students and learners to "get in touch with” the real-world problems in software development. We developed such an approach by defining the steps, developing and evaluating specific automation processes of building an environment for secure software development. We defined both the functional and nonfunctional requirements for such a system, and the next major steps in development, such as virtualization setup (kvm), virtual environment (virtual machines) definition and creation, database configuration and management of user settings, have been defined and developed. The evaluation is performed according to the specifics defined in the Web technologies course, but the results and use are not limited to that course alone. In conclusion, the results of the evaluation conducted in a laboratory setting have been presented and appropriate scenarios, applications and future work have been defined. © 2023, The Author(s), under exclusive license to Springer Nature Switzerland AG.

Comparative characteristics of the quality of life in patients with senile asthenia and history of COVID-19 three and six months after discharge from the hospital

Background. Patients with COVID-19 and senile asthenia syndrome (SA) are characterized by extremely high comorbidity, heterogeneity, atypical course of the disease, and large number of complications. We carried out a comprehensive assessment of the quality of life (QOL) in patients with COVID-19 and SA considering the high prevalence of this category of patients and the absence of such studies. Material and Methods. Group 1 included 37 patients with SA and history of COVID-19 three months after discharge from the hospital. Group 2 included 35 patients with CA and history of COVID-19 six months later. Control group comprised 34 patients with SA aged over 65 years who did not have COVID-19. The assessment of QOL was carried out according to the SF-36 questionnaire. Results. There was a decrease in absolutely all indicators of physical and psychosocial aspects of health three months after discharge from the hospital. There was a more pronounced decrease in the scales of physical functioning (PF), role-physical functioning (RP), general health (GH), and mental health (MH) after six months. There was a lower QOL in female population according to most scales (PF, RP, GH, MH, and role-emotional functioning (RE)) regardless of the time from the moment of discharge from the hospital, and a higher incidence of depression compared to men. Conclusions. All QOL indicators of patients with SA and history of COVID-19 decreased within the first three months after discharge from the hospital. At the same time, after six months, a decrease in physical status was most pronounced, while the indicators of mental sphere reduced only according to the MH scale. At three and six months after discharge, the quality of life in the male population was higher than in the female population according to the same evaluation scales (PF, RP, GH, MH, and RE). The best indicators of pain scale in men were characteristic only for the first group of patients, whereas there was no statistically significant difference according to the social functioning and MH data. There was a higher incidence of depression in the female population, while the prevalence of anxiety was higher at three months after discharge than after six months. © 2022 Folia Medica. All rights reserved.

THE RELATIONSHIPS BETWEEN THE IMPACT OF COVID-19 PANDEMIC, PARENT INSOMNIA, INFANT TEMPERAMENT, AND INFANT SLEEP: A PATH ANALYSIS

Introduction: Increased sleep problems in adults have been repeatedly reported during the COVID-19 pandemic. However, infant sleep was understudied. We aimed to examine the relationships between the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, parent insomnia, infant temperament, and infant sleep during the COVID-19 pandemic. Methods: Parents from the Phoenix metropolitan area with a full-term healthy infant (<1 year) were recruited through social media from 2/27/2021 to 8/7/2021. A sample of 70 parents (baby age 5.5±3.5mo;parental age: 31.7±5.0y) completed the COVID-19 Exposure and Family Impact Survey Part 2 (CEFISPart 2, range: 12-60), a measure of the impact of the COVID- 19 pandemic on families with higher scores indicating greater negative impact/distress;the Brief Infant Sleep Questionnaire- Revised (BISQ-R, range: 0-100), with higher scores indicating better sleep quality, more positive sleep perception, and parent behaviors promoting healthy sleep;and the Insomnia Severity Index (ISI, range: 0-28, cutoff: 10). Infant temperament was assessed with the Infant Behavioral Questionnaire-Revised (IBQR), including the subscale Negative Affect. Path analyses were conducted based on the Transactional Model of Infant Sleep to identify the direct effect of CEFIS scores, and indirect effects of parent ISI scores and infant IBQ-R Negative Affect scores on BISQ-R scores, with z scores of all variables and infant age as a covariate. Results: The parent sample was predominantly female (94.3%), identified as White (72.9%), had obtained a bachelor's degree or above (71.5%), was married or in a domestic partnership (98.6%), and had household incomes > US$70,000 (57.1%). More than one third (35.7%) experienced insomnia symptoms. The means of CEFIS, ISI, IBQ-R subscale Negative Affect, and BISQ-R scores were 29.3±9.5, 8.7±5.2, 4.1±1.1, and 68.8±12.7, respectively. After adjusting for infant age, the COVID-19 related family impact was not directly associated with BISQ-R scores, whereas parent ISI scores (β=-0.11, 95%CI [-.25, -.01]) and infant IBQ-R Negative Affect scores (β=-0.10, 95%CI [-.25, -.002]) significantly mediated the relationship. Conclusion: The study highlighted the indirect effects of parent insomnia symptom severity and infant negative affect on infant sleep from the family impact of the COVID-19 pandemic. Future research should investigate how best to support healthy sleep for families during global crises.

Digital Educational Ecosystem: Transformation and Development Trends of Online Education

The authors’ research focuses on the transformation of the online education market in the current context and the creation of the concept of a digital educational ecosystem. The relevance of the topic can be substantiated by reasons that are associated with the overall digitalisation of the economy and the COVID-19 pandemic. Determination of the reasons for the transformation of the conventional hierarchical education system, the rapid development of the online education market and, as a consequence, the development of the concept of a digital educational ecosystem as a present-day approach to arranging for the educational environment in the context of the society’s transition to a new technological set-up, networkisation of the world educational space and active implementation of digital technologies in the educational process is defined by the authors as the key goal of the research. Based on the empirical data analysis, a conclusion is made about the accelerated rates of development of the online education market, the predicted value of the growth rate of online education in the future in the short term. The author’s vision of the digital educational ecosystem as a network infrastructure, which shapes a single technological educational platform with digital technologies, creates conditions for effective interaction between the stakeholders through the provision of tailored educational services based on taking into account the interests of consumers, is formulated. © 2022, The Author(s), under exclusive license to Springer Nature Switzerland AG.

Impact of anti-epidemic measures in Bulgaria on COVID-19 morbidity and mortality

Introduction and Background: In its recent history, humankind has faced many large-scale epidemics, although none of them has reached the pandemic potential of the SARS-CoV-2. The study of a cluster spread of viral pneumonia in Wuhan Province, China, has led to the identification of a novel coronavirus. Aim and Objectives: The aim of this study is to evaluate the effect of the anti-epidemic measures in Bulgaria on morbidity and mortality from COVID-19 throughout the pandemic between February 2020 and April 2021, covering the first, second and third wave of the epidemic in Bulgaria.

Chronotype associations with insomnia, depressive symptoms, and changes in sleep and health behaviors during the COVID-19 pandemic

Introduction: Evening chronotype (i.e., night owl preference) is associated with worse insomnia and depressive symptoms, and poorer health behaviors. The aim of this study was to examine the association between chronotype and these symptoms and health behaviors during COVID-19 pandemic quarantine. Methods: An online survey, distributed internationally via social media from 5/21/2020-7/1/2020, asked adults to report sociodemographic/economic information, changes in sleep (midpoint, total sleep time, sleep efficiency, time-in-bed), and health behaviors (i.e., physical activity, sedentary screen time, and outdoor light exposure patterns) from prior to during the pandemic, chronotype preference (definitely morning [DM], rather more morning [RM], rather more evening [RE], or definitely evening [DE]), and complete the Insomnia Severity Index (ISI) and the 10-item Center for Epidemiologic Studies Depression scale (CES-D-10). Multinomial logistic regression and ANCOVA models, adjusting for age and sex, examined associations of chronotype with COVID-19 pandemic related impacts on sleep, depressive symptoms, and health behaviors. Results: A subsample of 579 participants (M age: 39y, range: 18-80;73.6% female), currently under quarantine and neither pregnant nor performing shift work, represented each chronotype evenly (∼25%). Participants delayed their sleep midpoint by 72.0min (SD=111.5) during the pandemic. DE chronotypes had a greater delay than morning types (M±SD DE: 91.0±9.0 vs. RM: 55.9±9.2 & DM: 66.1±9.3;p=0.046) with no significant change in other sleep patterns relative to other chronotypes. However, DE and RE chronotypes had greater odds of reporting that their new sleep/wake schedule was still not consistent with their “body clock” preference relative to morning types (X2[15]=54.8, p<0.001), reported greater ISI (F[3,503]=5.3, p=.001) and CES-D-10 scores (F[3,492]=7.9, p<.001), and had greater odds for increased or consistently moderate-to-high sedentary screen time (X2[12]=22.7, p=0.03) and decreased physical activity (X2[12]=22.5, p=0.03) than DM chronotype. There was no significant difference in change in outdoor light exposure by chronotype (X2[12]=12.1, p=0.43). Conclusion: In an international online sample of adults under COVID-19 pandemic quarantine, evening chronotypes, despite taking the opportunity to delay sleep to match biological clock preference, reported their sleep/wake schedules were still inconsistent with personal preference, and reported greater insomnia and depressive symptoms, and odds of engaging in poorer health behaviors than morning chronotypes.

The association of prior mental health conditions with COVID-19-related sleep changes

Introduction: Among persons with mental health conditions, the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on sleep health is underexplored. The present study investigated whether sleep changes related to the COVID-19 pandemic differed among individuals with mood and/or anxiety disorders compared to individuals without these disorders. Methods: A 25-minute online survey, distributed globally to adults aged >18y through social media advertising from 5/28/2020- 7/10/2020, examined the association of mental health diagnoses with COVID-19 related sleep changes. Participants reported prior history of mood and anxiety disorders, and pre-COVID-19 and current sleep patterns including bedtime, wake time, total sleep time (TST), sleep efficiency (SE:[TST/time in bed∗100%], and nightmare frequency/wk. ANOVA models comparing mental health disorder groups (no diagnoses, mood disorders, anxiety disorders, mood and anxiety disorders) on mean differences in sleep changes were conducted. Results: Among 1,048 participants, 71.5% reported no prior mood and/or anxiety disorders9.3% reported anxiety disorders only, 4.3% reported prior mood disorders only, and 14.9% reported both mood and anxiety disorders. There were significant group differences in total sleep time (F (3,670)=4.6, p=0.003) and sleep efficiency (F (3,670) =2.8, p=0.038) such that individuals with both mood and anxiety disorders experienced greater decreases in total sleep time (Mean Difference: 39.0min, SE=13.0) and sleep efficiency (Mean Difference=3.8%, SE=1.6) compared to individuals without any mood or anxiety disorders. In addition, the model for nightmare frequency per week was significant (F(3,654)=5.6, p=0.001) such that individuals with both anxiety and mood disorders (Mean Difference=1.1, SE=0.4) and individuals with mood disorders only (Mean Difference=1.1, SE=0.4) reported greater increases in nightmare frequency compared to participants without any mood or anxiety disorders. There were no group differences in bedtime and wake time. Conclusion: Among a global sample, COVID-19 pandemic-related sleep health significantly worsened among individuals with prior mood and anxiety disorders relative to individuals without these disorders.

Association between covid-19 pandemic related unemployment and change in sedentary screen time among previously employed adults

Introduction: Worldwide, the COVID-19 pandemic has resulted in widespread job loss and disruptions in daily life. However, the role of job loss during the COVID-19 pandemic on health behaviors such as sedentary screen time (SST) is unknown. The purpose of this study was to determine the association between employment status change during the pandemic and change in SST. Methods: A 25-minute online survey was distributed through local and global social media from 5/21/2020-7/01/2020. A subsample of employed adults (n=417;M=38.45y, range: 18-75;74.8.% women) provided complete self-reported pre-and during-COVID-19 employment status (categorized as remained employed and became unemployed), pre-and during-COVID-19 hours of daily SST for non-work-related purposes [low: <5h;high: >5]. Change in daily SST was categorized as low-low (ref), low-high, and high-high. The subsample of participants that changed from high to low SST in the sample was low and were removed from subsequent analyses. Multinomial logistic regression models were conducted to examine the association of change in employment status on change inSST while adjusting for age, gender, education level, body mass index, current minutes of physicalactivity per week, and current typical 24-hour sleep duration. Results: of the 417 participants who were employed prior to the pandemic, 15.6% (n=675).Became Unemployed. The proportion of participants in the low-low, low-high, and high-high changein SST groups were 46.8% (n=195), 25.4% (n=106), and 27.8% (n=116), respectively. Relative toadults who remained employed, adults who became unemployed had a 3.02 greater odds(95%CI:1.51, 6.02) of being in the high-high change in SST group, and had a 2.54 greater odds(95%CI:1.23,5.25) of being in the low-high change in SST group relative to participants who were consistently low in SST. Conclusion: In this cross-sectional study of an international, online sample of adults, becomingunemployed was associated with a greater odds of both maintaining high levels of sedentary screentime, and increasing sedentary screen time to high levels. Action to protect people in the workforce from job loss and employment disruption in times of global economic upheaval may preventincreased adoption of maladaptive lifestyle behaviors, such as high levels of SST.