ABSTRACT
Taste is one of the fundamental senses that allow us to distinguish nutritious food substances from toxic ones. However, the ability to taste decreases with age or can be lost due to some diseases such as COVID- 19, drugs, and disturbances in the molecular activities in taste homeostasis and renewal. Previous studies have shown the potential role of the Hedgehog signaling pathway in taste papillae homeostasis Therefore, inhibition or stimulation of the Hedgehog pathway can be explored to address taste disturbances. This study investigated photobiomodulation effects on the Hedgehog signaling pathway after inhibition with Vismodegib of taste receptor and geniculate ganglion neuronal cells in vitro and in vivo. Laser treatment performed at 630 and 850 nm, with varying energies of 30, 60, and 120J resulted in the modulation of Hedgehog signaling proteins and genes. Photobiomodulation offers a noninvasive approach with deep penetration in tissue to restore taste by promoting tastebud regeneration and stimulating desensitized afferent nerves.
ABSTRACT
In the early stages of the COVID-19 pandemic, the public has been experiencing severe stress and feelings of anxiety. Social media in particular has been shown in the literature to be a major contributing medium for the widespread distribution of misinformation concerning COVID-19. The rapid dissemination of fake news concerning supply shortages of certain essential items has increased pandemic-related behaviours such as panic buying. Factors that have led to panic buying include: perceived threat of an event, perceived product scarcity, fear of the unknown, and coping methods to gain control. Although these factors are prevalent reasons that induce panic buying behaviours, they do not explain the mechanisms of perception formation. It is possible that heuristics (i.e. availability, and affect), which are reinforced by social media posts, aid in the development of the illusory truth effect. This psychological phenomenon may be the root cause of the public’s false perceptions of pandemic-related events. This paper reviews the impact of the illusory truth effect as a mediator in processing misinformation from social media and the news as truths that inevitably encourages panic buying behaviour. Furthermore, this paper examines the persistence of the illusory truth effect due to herd mentality and confirmation bias in the perpetual cycle of irrational decision making. In conclusion, the illusory truth effect has been demonstrated to be a key cognitive bias that strengthens with repetitive exposure to adverse sentiments related to COVID-19, and is likely to be maintained through herd mentality and confirmation bias in social situations. Although more research must be conducted to solidify this theory, the current review aims to serve as a basis for further research on the illusory truth effect and potentiate solutions in the prevention of adherence to this effect. © 2022, University of Toronto. All rights reserved.
ABSTRACT
Hyper-realistic face image generation and manipulation have given rise to numerous unethical social issues, e.g., invasion of privacy, threat of security, and malicious political maneuvering, which resulted in the development of recent deepfake detection methods with the rising demands of deepfake forensics. Proposed deepfake detection methods to date have shown remarkable detection performance and robustness. However, none of the suggested deepfake detection methods assessed the performance of deepfakes with the facemask during the pandemic crisis after the outbreak of the COVID-19. In this paper, we thoroughly evaluate the performance of state-of-The-Art deepfake detection models on the deepfakes with the facemask. Our result shows that fake facial images with facemask can deceive well-known deepfake detection models, thereby evading the real-world security systems. © 2022 ACM.
ABSTRACT
Introduction/Rationale: People with multiple chronic diseases, such as heart failure (HF) or chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD), are at elevated risk of unplanned repeated hospitalization. Transitional care has been recognized as reducing unexpected rehospitalization after discharge from hospital to home. As the COVID-19 pandemic is prolonged, individual home healthcare services are getting increased attention for post-acute care. However, less is known about the effectiveness of nurse-led transitional care programs, including home-visit intervention. Objectives: This study aimed to identify the effectiveness of nurse-led home-visit transitional care programs in improving health service utilization, functional status, and quality of life (QoL) among people discharged from hospital to home. Methods: We conducted a scoping review of the EBSCOMedline, Cochrane Library and Embase databases searching for articles containing a combination of “home care,” “transitional care,” and “care coordination” between 1973 and 2021. Inclusion criteria were: randomized controlled trials (RCTs) or quasi-experimental studies, adults who need continuing healthcare after discharged to home, and affecting at least one of the following outcomes: hospital readmission, functional status, and QoL. Results: Initial searching identified 1552 potential records, 1328 s were screened, and 105 full texts were retrieved. A total of 16 studies met the selection criteria. Seven studies were conducted in North America and most were RCTs (n=14). Most participants (mean=73 years) had multiple chronic diseases, such as stroke, COPD, or HF. Regarding discharge plans, two-thirds of the studies included a pre-and a post-discharge plan (n=11). All studies included a home-visit intervention regularly or as needed over a period from one week to two years. Intervention team providers were the research team only (n=2), a collaboration with a hospital team (n=4), a community team (n=4), or a hospital team plus a community team (n=6). Hospital readmissions were assessed in 12 studies and found to be significantly lower in the intervention group (n=4). Physical function status was assessed in seven studies and was significantly better in the intervention group (n=2). QoL was assessed in eight studies and was significantly greater in the intervention group (n=3). Conclusions: About 30% of the studies reported that home-visit transitional care interventions had positive effects on hospital readmissions, physical function status, and QoL. More studies are required to include patient engagement and the use of technology, such as telehealth, in transitional care plans to improve selfcare at home.
ABSTRACT
This study measures the extent to which Seoul's COVID-19 shopping coupon program affects individuals' consumption. Unlike other COVID-19-related transfer programs, the Seoul Metropolitan government provides consumption coupons depending on income. We quantify the causal effect of Seoul's program by comparing eligible and ineligible groups using a difference-in -differences method. We find that the program increased consumption by 18% while it was ongoing and by 6% afterward. We find substantial heterogeneity in the treatment effects concerning recipients' income and consumption categories.
ABSTRACT
Purpose: The Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) epidemic has now spread across China. Self-quarantine and social distancing to prevent infection is being implemented in South Korea. Individuals selfquarantined suffer from social isolation and mental health problems such as anxiety, depression, and fear. The purpose of this study was to explore the characteristics of Individuals self-quarantined during the COVID-19 outbreak in a city and to help public mental health policy. Materials and method: We analyzed the original data on mental health care through the “New Coronavirus Psychological Support Group” conducted at a satellite city Mental Health Center from February to August 2020. Mental health professionals interviewed Individuals self-quarantined via phone contact and recorded demographic data, Clinical Global Impression-severity (CGI-S). Subjects with more than two CGI scores were defined as a symptomatic status. We reviewed CGI-S score of the study subjects and performed a chisquare test to determine the difference in CGI-S score according to sociodemographic characteristics. Results: We interviewed 3001 subjects, and 1477 subjects (49.2%) were female (mean age;39.86 [SD = 18.10]). There was a statistically significant difference in CGI-S scores according to nationality and gender. A CGI-S score of 2 or higher was found to be 130 for Korean and 4 for foreigners. (X2 = 11.221, p = 0.01). A CGI-S score of 2 or higher was 85 for women and 49 for men (X2 = 11.341, p = 0.01). There was no statistically significant difference in CGI-S scores according to age. Conclusion: Among Individuals self-quarantined due to the COVID-19 in a city, Korean had relatively higher CGI-S scores than foreigners and women had relatively higher CGI-S scores than men. Koreans who arrived from abroad seem to have more mental health stress than foreigners. In the future, there is a need for intensive mental health assessment and crisis intervention for Korean and women among Individuals self-quarantined.