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Objectives This multicenter cross-sectional study was conducted to assess the psychosocial impact of COVID-19 on patients with inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) in Spain during lockdown and the first wave of the pandemic. Patients and methods A self-report questionnaire that integrated the Spanish version of the Depression, Anxiety and Stress Scale-21 items (DASS-21) and the Perceived Stress Questionnaire (PSS) was designed to gather sociodemographic data and information related to the effects of lockdown on the lives of IBD patients. Twelve IBD units invited their patients to answer the anonymous online survey between the 1st July and the 25th August 2020. Results Of the 693 survey participants with IBD, 67% were women and the mean age was 43 (SD 12). Sixty-one percent had ulcerative colitis, 36% Crohn's disease and 3% indeterminate colitis. DASS-21 scores indicate that during lockdown the estimated prevalence of depression was 11% [95% CI 8.2–13%], anxiety 20% [95% CI 17 to 23%] and stress 18% [95% CI 8.2–13%]. Multivariate analysis showed that the perceived high risk of COVID-19 infection because of having IBD and maladaptation to government measures to reduce the spread of disease doubled the risk of anxiety and stress during lockdown. Conclusions In the short-term, lockdown during the COVID-19 pandemic seemed to have an impact on the already affected mental health of our IBD patients in Spain.
ABSTRACT
Talent Management has emerged in contemporary companies as a fundamental element to generate value. Having an adequate human resources policy that enhances employee capabilities is vital to generate satisfactory and productive work environments. The main objective of this paper is to analyze the impact of some of the main variables involved in talent management, and how they affect the financial profitability of the company. Specifically, we focus on analyzing the size of the workforce of companies that carry out talent management actions, the range of aspects taken into account in the evaluation of employee performance, and employee perceptions of the company's compensation and promotion policies. On the other hand, given that Covid19 has strongly impacted the human resources area of all companies, we have introduced in the analysis the measurement of how the pandemic has affected the way of working in the different organizations studied in this article. The study has been carried out through a survey of the heads of the human resources departments of some of the largest companies in the region of Valencia, Spain. The analysis has been carried out through a fuzzy set qualitative comparative analysis approach, since it allows to capture the complexity of the relationships of the conditions in a human environment, obtaining equifinal solutions that lead to the expected result, the financial profitability. The main contribution of this study is to help business in making decisions in the area of Talent Management, in order to be able to continue generating profitability and value with their businesses.
ABSTRACT
Background: SARS-CoV-2 variants accumulating immune escape mutations provide a significant risk to vaccine-induced protection. The novel variant of concern Omicron (B.1.1.529) has to date the largest number of amino acid alterations in its Spike protein. Thus, it may efficiently escape recognition by neutralizing antibodies, allowing breakthrough infections in convalescent and vaccinated individuals. Aims: We analysed neutralization activity after vaccination with all mRNA-, vector- or heterologous immunization schemes currently available in Europe at peak response and in a longitudinal follow-up with BNT162b2 vaccinees to define immune escape potential of the Omicron VoC. Methods: We tested sera by in vitro neutralization assay towards SARS-CoV-2 B.1, Omicron, Beta and Delta pseudotypes Results: All vaccines apart from Ad26.CoV2.S showed high levels of responder rates (93.3-100%) towards SARS-CoV-2 wild-type, but some reductions in neutralizing Beta and Delta VoC pseudotypes. The novel Omicron variant had the biggest impact, both in terms of response rates and neutralization titres among responders. Only mRNA-1273 showed a 100% response rate to Omicron and induced the highest titres of neutralizing antibodies, followed by heterologous prime-boost approaches. Homologous BNT162b2 vaccination or vector-based formulations with AZD1222 or Ad26.CoV2.S performed less well with peak responder rates of 33%, 50% and 9%, respectively. However, Omicron responder rates in BNT162b2 recipients were maintained in our six month longitudinal follow-up and even slightly increased to 47%, indicating cross-protection against Omicron is maintained over time. Conclusions: Overall, our data strongly argues for urgent booster doses in individuals who were previously vaccinated with BNT162b2, or a vector-based immunization scheme.
Subject(s)
COVID-19 , Breakthrough PainABSTRACT
Background While SARS-CoV-2 vaccinations were successful in decreasing COVID-19 caseloads, recent increases in SARS-CoV-2 infections have led to questions about duration and quality of the subsequent immune response. While numerous studies have been published on immune responses triggered by vaccination, these often focused on the initial peak response generated in specific population subgroups (e.g. healthcare workers or immunocompromised individuals) and have often only examined the effects of one or two different immunisation schemes. Methods and Findings We analysed serum samples from participants of a large German seroprevalence study (MuSPAD) who had received all available vaccines and dose schedules (mRNA-1273, BNT162b2, AZD1222, Ad26.CoV2S.2 or a combination of AZD1222 plus either mRNA-1273 or BNT162b2). Antibody titers against various SARS-CoV-2 antigens and ACE2 binding inhibition against SARS-CoV-2 wild-type and the Alpha, Beta, Gamma and Delta variants of concern were analysed using a previously published multiplex immunoassay MULTICOV-AB and an ACE2-RBD competition assay. Among the different vaccines and their dosing regimens, homologous mRNA-based or heterologous prime-boost vaccination produced significantly higher antibody responses than vector-based homologous vaccination. Ad26.CoV2S.2 performance was significantly reduced, even compared to AZD1222, with 91.67% of samples being considered non-responsive forACE2 binding inhibition. mRNA-based vaccination induced a higher ratio of RBD- and S1-targeting antibodies than vector-based vaccination, which resulted in an increased proportion of S2-targeting antibodies. Previously infected individuals had a robust immune response once vaccinated, regardless of which vaccine they received. When examining antibody kinetics post-vaccination after homologous immunisation regimens, both titers and ACE2 binding inhibition peaked approximately 28 days post-vaccination and then decreased as time increased. Conclusions As one of the first and largest population-based studies to examine vaccine responses for all currently available immunisation schemes in Germany, we found that homologous mRNA or heterologous vaccination elicited the highest immune responses. The high percentage of non-responders for Ad26.CoV2.S requires further investigation and suggests that a booster dose with an mRNA-based vaccine may be necessary. The high responses seen in recovered and vaccinated individuals could aid future dose allocation, should shortages arise for certain manufacturers. Given the role of RBD- and S1-specific antibodies in neutralising SARS-CoV-2, their relative over-representation after mRNA vaccination may explain why mRNA vaccines have an increased efficacy compared to vector-based formulations. Further investigation on these differences will be of particular interest for vaccine development and efficacy, especially for the next-generation of vector-based vaccines.
Subject(s)
COVID-19 , Severe Acute Respiratory SyndromeABSTRACT
[...]the welfare state has been put to the test with health at the forefront. [...]the focus is now on business relocations and international trade, due to both the unprecedented confrontation between the United States and China and the impact of Brexit on the European Union. [...]continuing the relationship with business management professionals, they also sought to strengthen the existing links between researchers from different universities and teams, with special emphasis on enhancing the published works' quality after going through a rigorous review process. [...]in the area of Marketing, and based on data from users in the audiovisual sector, Rojas-Lamorena et al.
ABSTRACT
Prevalence of SARS-CoV-2 antibodies is an essential indicator to guide measures. Few population-based estimates are available in Germany. We determine seroprevalence allowing comparison between regions, time points, socio-demographic and health-related factors. MuSPAD is a sequential multi-local seroprevalence study. We randomly recruited adults in five counties with differing cumulative SARS-CoV-2 incidence July 2020 - February 2021. Serostatus was determined using Spike S1-specific IgG ELISA. We determined county-wise proportions of seropositivity. We assessed underestimation of infections, county and age specific infection fatality risks, and association of seropositivity with demographic, socioeconomic and health factors. We found seroprevalence of 2.4 % (95%CI: 1.8-3.1%) for Reutlingen in June 2020 (stage 1) which increased to 2.9% (95%CI: 2.1-3.8%) in October (stage 2), Freiburg stage 1 1.5% (95% CI: 1.1-2.1%) vs. 2.5% (95%CI: 1.8-3.4%), Aachen stage 1 2.3% (95% CI: 1.7-3.1%) vs. 5.4% (95%CI: 4.4-6.6%), Osnabrück 1.3% (95% CI: 1.0-1.9%) and Magdeburg in Nov/Dec 2020. 2.4% (95%CI 1.9-3.1%). Number needed to quarantine to have one infected person quarantined was 8.2. The surveillance detection ratio (SDR) between number of infections based on our results and number reported to health authorities ranged from 2.5-4.5. Participants aged 80+ had lower SDR. Infection fatality estimates ranged from 0.2-2.4%. Lower education was associated with higher, smoking with lower seropositivity. Seroprevalence remained low until December 2020 with high underdetection. The second wave from November 2020 to February 2021 resulted in additional 2-5% of the population being infected. Detected age specific differences of SDR should be taken into account in modelling and forecasting COVID-19 morbidity. Highlights Evidence before this study Seroepidemiological surveys on SARS-CoV-2 are a useful tool to track the transmission during the epidemic. We searched PubMed/the pre-print server medRxiv and included web-based reports from German health organizations using the keywords “seroprevalence”, “SARS-CoV-2”, “Germany” and similar other English and German terms in the period from January 1st, 2020 until March 2021. We identified 30 published studies in Germany which mostly report low SARS-CoV-2 seroprevalence (<5%). Most of these surveys were so-called hotspot studies which assessed seroprevalence after localized outbreaks or examined seroprevalence of specific population groups such as e.g. medical staff. Few studies are either population-based or blood donor-based, but do not allow comparisons between regions. To date, we only consider the Corona sub-study of the Rhineland study similar to MuSPAD. It reports a low SARS-CoV-2 seroprevalence (46/4755; 0.97%; 95% CI: 0.72−1.30). Based on this, almost the entire German population remained susceptible to a SARS-CoV-2 infection by the end of 2020. Added value of this study We provide the first comprehensive, high-precision multi-region population-based SARS-CoV-2 seroprevalence study with representative sampling following the WHO protocol in Germany. By measuring SARS-CoV-2 IgG, we explore immunity at regional and national level over time. We also assess risk factors and sample each region twice, which permits to monitor seroprevalence progression throughout the epidemic in different exemplary German regions. Implications of all the available evidence Our results show low seroprevalence (<3%) until Mid-December 2020 in all regions. While estimates in Reutlingen, Aachen, Freiburg and Osnabrück reflect low seroprevalence mostly after the first wave, the survey in Magdeburg cumulatively already represents the beginning of the second wave. The number needed to quarantine to ensure one infected person was quarantined was 8.2 in our study. We also show that for the first wave reported infections reflected overall around 25% of those actually infected rising to 40-50% in the second wave. A slightly raised infection risk could be shown for persons with lower education.