Mathematical analysis of a MERS-Cov coronavirus model

In this study, we have proposed a mathematical model to describe the dynamics of the spread of Middle East Respiratory Syndrome disease. The model consists of six-coupled ordinary differential equations. The existence of the corona-free equilibrium and endemic equilibrium points has been proved. The threshold condition for which the disease will die out or becomes permanent has been computed. That is the corona-free equilibrium point is locally asymptotically stable whenever the reproduction number is less than unity, and it is globally asymptotically stable (GAS) whenever the reproduction number is greater than unity. Moreover, we have proved that the endemic equilibrium point is GAS whenever the reproduction number is greater than unity. The results of the model analysis have been illustrated by numerical simulations.

Who took care of what? The gender division of unpaid work during the first year of the COVID-19 pandemic in France

BACKGROUND France was one of the first countries implementing lockdown measures to mitigate the spread of COVID-19. Since families spent more time at home, household and care workloads increased significantly. However, existing findings are mixed in terms of whether this situation contributed to a more gender-egalitarian division of unpaid work. OBJECTIVE This paper explores the division of domestic work within couples across two different COVID-19 lockdowns and compares them to the out-of-lockdown period in France. We use the theoretical lenses of time availability, relative resources, and 'doing gender' to make sense of these changes. METHODS Our longitudinal analyses rely on an original panel study we collected in France between April 2020 and April 2021. It includes a sample of 1,959 observations (of 809 individuals living in couples). We employ the different types of restrictions to mobility and social life imposed during the first year of the pandemic as a contextual background, within which we measure the main drivers of change in the division of unpaid work within couples. We use individual fixed effect regression models to estimate changes in men's share of unpaid work by time, changes in work conditions, partners' educational gaps, and types of domestic tasks. RESULTS The first lockdown contributed to a slight rebalancing of unpaid work within couples. However, our results show an impact of both absolute and relative time availability on men's share of unpaid work and that the overall rebalancing of unpaid work hides highly gendered patterns. Indeed, we find men doing more shopping and women doing more child care. This gendered division of labour is slightly more prevalent among couples in which the man is more educated than his partner. CONTRIBUTION Our findings suggest the reaffirmation of traditional gender roles even during the exceptional first year of the pandemic in France.

Caregiving during COVID19 pandemic: the new challenge in oncology assistance?

Introduction: Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) outbreak has been declared a pandemic unprecedented. Italy has been one of the first and heavily affected countries. The hematologic toxicity due to chemotherapy is the main reason why cancer patients are considered fragile patients, due to the high risk of infection. This led to important restrictions and recommendations during first and even more during second peak of COVID-19 pandemic with the prohibition of caregivers admission. In the above scenario, our study has the aim of evaluating the impact of COVID19 pandemic in caregiving in oncology. Materials and Methods: Between 02/09 and 04/02 2021 our team conducted a cross-sectional study by submitting a survey to caregivers of patients with solid cancer undergoing active treatments in Oncologic Departments of Marche region. An anonymous, paper questionnaire regarding perception of patient safety and continuity of care was submitted. Results: A total of 112 caregivers responded to our survey. The majority of them were between 46 and 65 years old (46.4%), female (57%), declared to take care of the patient for 0-2 hours/day (36.6%) and declared to have increased assistance time during the pandemic (59.3%). Half of the participants declared there were no economic difficulties in assistance of their relatives and more than half (55.4 %, n=62) did not report major change in this setting. Almost all caregivers (99.1%) declared that the Oncology Departments has complied with the safety recommendations to limit virus spread. Although 86 (76.8%) of them confirmed that access has been restricted due to pandemic, only 10 caregivers (8.9%) perceived these precautions too restrictive, while 107 ( 95.5%) of the all sample defined them effective. Despite these constraints, approximately all respondents declared that they had the chance to dialogue with health care providers and had the possibility to access the oncologic department if necessary (respectively 106 subjects, 94.6% and 101, 90.1%). Moreover, more than half of caregivers (n=57, 50.9%) perceived that the quality of care has not been affected by the pandemic. Conclusions: Despite the COVID-19 pandemic has overwhelmed the Italian National Health System, maybe more than in other countries, Oncology Departments was considered worthy of the emergency care in terms of safety and care management by caregivers. Caregivers perceived and believed in an adequate quality of care for their relatives without economic implications.

Using digital social stories to improve social skills in children with autism: a pilot experimental single-subject study

Purpose Children with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) face difficulty with educational attainment because of to their inability to interact with others. One intervention that is used to increase social skills in individuals with ASD is social stories. This study aimed at exploring the impact of digital social stories in improving social skills of two students with ASD in the UAE. Design/methodology/approach An experimental AB single-subject study was conducted to investigate the impact of digital social stories on nonverbal communication, targeting two specific behaviors: raising hands before leaving one's seat (TB1) and playing and sharing toys with peers (TB2). Two digital social stories (DSS1 and DSS2) were developed for the purpose of this study and transformed using a digital platform to be displayed on an iPad (tablet). Findings This study involved two male participants with ASD (10 and 11 years old). Participant one demonstrated improvement in TB1 (mean of 1.11) because of DSS1 in the intervention phase. Participant two demonstrated improvement of 18% in TB2 ( mean of 0.18) as a result of DSS2 in the intervention phase. Practical implications Both students that participated in the study showed a positive change in their target behaviors during the intervention phase intervention at different levels. Using an ABA study design would have been stronger in establishing a more valid causal relation in this single-subject design study. However, due the COVID-19 closures and curfews, the researchers had to switch to the AB design. Originality/value This study demonstrated how social stories had a positive impact on ASD social skills. Further, it indicated the potential effectiveness of using digital social stories to reduce undesirable behaviors or increase a desirable behaviors in children who have ASD.

Covid19 pandemic: Patients' perspective during cancer treatment

Background: The coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) outbreak has been declared global pandemic and Italy is one of the first and heavily affected countries. Cancer patients are a population at higher risk from COVID-19 both for intrinsic fragility bound to their underlying disease and oncologic treatment delay. Aim of our survey was to investigate how cancer patients perceived their health condition, their clinical management and information communication by their medical oncologists during the pandemic. Methods: Between 15th April and 1st May 2020 a survey was submitted to cancer patients under treatment at hospitals of Marche Region which had been invested by the pandemic. It consisted of questions regarding the perception of personal safety, continuity of cancer care and information quality provided by the Oncology Department and individual psychological distress. Results: A total of 661 patients participated in the survey;60.2% was female and 40.4% was aged between 46 and 65. Almost all of the attendees (97.7%) stated that the Oncologic Department complied with the appropriate safety standards and 78% was reassured about their concerns during the medical interview, but 41% was worried of being at higher risk of infection upon entry into the Oncology Department and 53.3% felt being at greater risk of infection because of chemotherapy treatment in general. The majority of the participants (62.2%) felt that postponing cancer treatment could reduce its efficacy, however 80% declared they did not feel abandoned at the time of treatment delay. 79.4% of the attendees felt more worried for their underlying disease in this emergency situation, but the mood worsened only for 34.2% of the participants. Conclusions: Our survey reveals that Oncology Departments have been considered worthy of the emergency in terms of safety standards and care management by cancer patients. However, the majority of attendees perceived the mutual negative influence between their underlying oncologic disease and risk of Sars-CoV-2 infection and manifested concerns about their health condition highlighting the need for special measures to ensure safe continuity of care.

COVID-19 pandemic: Patients’ perspective during cancer treatment

Background: The coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) outbreak has been declared global pandemic and Italy is one of the first and heavily affected countries. Cancer patients are a population at higher risk from COVID-19 both for intrinsic fragility bound to their underlying disease and oncologic treatment delay. Aim of our survey was to investigate how cancer patients perceived their health condition, their clinical management and information communication by their medical oncologists during the pandemic. Methods: Between 15th April and 1st May 2020 a survey was submitted to cancer patients under treatment at hospitals of Marche Region which had been invested by the pandemic. It consisted of questions regarding the perception of personal safety, continuity of cancer care and information quality provided by the Oncology Department and individual psychological distress. Results: A total of 661 patients participated in the survey;60.2% was female and 40.4% was aged between 46 and 65. Almost all of the attendees (97.7%) stated that the Oncologic Department complied with the appropriate safety standards and 78% was reassured about their concerns during the medical interview, but 41% was worried of being at higher risk of infection upon entry into the Oncology Department and 53.3% felt being at greater risk of infection because of chemotherapy treatment in general. The majority of the participants (62.2%) felt that postponing cancer treatment could reduce its efficacy, however 80% declared they did not feel abandoned at the time of treatment delay. 79.4% of the attendees felt more worried for their underlying disease in this emergency situation, but the mood worsened only for 34.2% of the participants. Conclusions: Our survey reveals that Oncology Departments have been considered worthy of the emergency in terms of safety standards and care management by cancer patients. However, the majority of attendees perceived the mutual negative influence between their underlying oncologic disease and risk of Sars-CoV-2 infection and manifested concerns about their health condition highlighting the need for special measures to ensure safe continuity of care. Legal entity responsible for the study: Università Politecnica delle Marche- AOU Ospedali Riuniti di Ancona. Funding: Has not received any funding. Disclosure: All authors have declared no conflicts of interest.