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Introduction Healthcare workers (HCWs) from an interprovincial Canadian cohort were asked to give serial blood samples to identify factors associated with anti-receptor binding domain (anti-RBD) IgG response to the SARS-CoV-2 virus. Methods Members of the HCW cohort donated blood samples four months after their first SARS-CoV-2 immunization and again at 7, 10 and 13 months. Date and type of immunizations and dates of SARS-CoV-2 infection were collected at each of four contacts, together with information on immunologically-compromising conditions and current therapies. Blood samples were analyzed centrally for anti-RBD IgG and anti-nucleocapsid IgG (Abbott Architect, Abbott Diagnostics). Records of immunization and SARS-CoV-2 testing from public health agencies were used to assess the impact of reporting errors on estimates from the random-effects multivariable model fitted to the data. Results 2752 of 4567 vaccinated cohort participants agreed to donate at least one blood sample. Modelling of anti-RBD IgG titer from 8903 samples showed an increase in IgG with each vaccine dose and with first infection. A decrease in IgG titer was found with the number of months since vaccination or infection, with the sharpest decline after the third dose. An immunization regime that included mRNA1273 (Moderna) resulted in higher anti-RBD IgG. Participants reporting multiple sclerosis, rheumatoid arthritis or taking selective immunosuppressants, tumor necrosis factor inhibitors, calcineurin inhibitors and antineoplastic agents had lower anti-RBD IgG. Supplementary analyses showed higher anti-RBD IgG in those reporting side-effects of vaccination, no relation of anti-RBD IgG to obesity and lower titers in women immunized early in pregnancy. Sensitivity analysis results suggested no important bias in the self-report data. Conclusion Creation of a prospective cohort was central to the credibility of results presented here. Serial serology assessments, with longitudinal analysis, provided effect estimates with enhanced accuracy and a clearer understanding of medical and other factors affecting response to vaccination.
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Necrosis , Sclerosis , Obesity , COVID-19 , Arthritis, RheumatoidABSTRACT
Access to financial services is regarded as one of the most pressing issues confronting communities worldwide sequel to the COVID-19 pandemic. In this regard, FinTech applications such as mobile financial service (MFS) play an essential role in building resilience during the pandemic. Hence, the aim of the study is to investigate the role of MFS platforms in economic resilience by empirically evaluating the determinants that influence the intention of Bangladeshi users toward adopting MFS platforms during the COVID-19 pandemic, through an extension of the Unified Theory of Acceptance and Use of Technology (UTAUT). Using the core structures of the UTAUT, the theoretical model was constructed based on the consumption attributes of financial services such as perceived value, as well as additional situational factors from the extended valence framework, including risk and trust. To test the model, data was obtained from 227 potential MFS users in Bangladesh with the aid of a structured questionnaire survey. Subsequently, the Structural Equation Modeling (SEM) approach was used to analyze the data. The findings showed that social influence, perceived trust, and perceived value are strongly related to the intention of users to adopt MFS platforms, whereas, perceived risk, performance expectancy, and effort expectancy were observed to influence users' perceived value of the MFS platforms during the COVID-19 pandemic. Interestingly, the study results indicated that the users' perceived risk did not influence their intention to adopt MFS platforms during the pandemic. Therefore, the suggested adoption of the MFS framework during and after the pandemic could contribute to the existing research on the adoption of information technology (IT) through the expansion of the UTAUT, in which the performance and effort expectancy of users influence their intention to indirectly adopt MFS through perceived value. Finally, the significant policy implications and future research directions are further addressed.
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Potatoes play an important role in ensuring food security. During the COVID-19 epidemic, consumption of processed potato products decreased, and consumption of fresh potatoes increased. China is the world's largest potato producer with more than 4.81 million hectares of area under potato production and 90.32 million metric tonnes of potatoes produced in 2018. This accounts for 27.36% of the world's planting area and 24.53% of the world's potato production. The proportion of potatoes processed in China was about 12% in 2017, mostly dominated by starch production. However, the recent policy of the Chinese government to popularise potato as a staple food has created new markets for processed potato products other than starch. A very few reports have analysed these future trends of the rapidly growing Chinese potato processing industry and its impact within and outside China. This paper provides an overview of the latest developments with a focus on processed potato products such as potato chips, French fries and dehydrated potatoes, and also, due to the unique Chinese diet culture, it highlights the need for more scientific research dedicated towards the development of novel potato-based healthy foods.
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Background Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) has progressively impacted our daily lives, resulting in unexpected physical and mental stress on medical staff. This study is designed to investigate the levels of and risk factors for burnout, depression, anxiety, and insomnia among medical staff during the COVID-19 epidemic breakout in Shanghai, China. Methods This cross-sectional survey was conducted from May 1 to May 31, 2022, among medical staff who were on the frontline during the epidemic breakout in Shanghai from different institutions. The MBI-HSS was used to assess burnout, PHQ-9, GAD-7 and ISI were used to evaluate mental status and insomnia. Results A total of 543 valid questionnaires were collected. The depersonalization, depression, anxiety, and insomnia scores of medical staff were significantly higher during the pandemic in Shanghai compared with norms, while lack of personal achievement scores were decreased. Working time, work unit, work environment and age are important influencers of burnout, depression and anxiety of medical staff. Long working hours are the most likely causes of burnout and emotional disorders. Medical staff in primary hospitals were most likely to suffer from burnout and emotional disorders, while medical staff in tertiary hospitals had a reduced sense of personal achievement. Young medical staff are prone to negative emotions such as depression and anxiety, while older medical staff have a lower sense of personal accomplishment. Medical staff who were not in the shelter hospitals or designated hospitals were more likely to have problems of emotional exhaustion, depersonalization and anxiety than those who were in the shelter hospitals or designated hospitals. Contracting COVID-19 had no effect on medical staff. Emotional exhaustion and depersonalization were positively correlated with anxiety, depression, and sleep disorders while personal achievement was negatively correlated with these factors. Conclusion Medical staff in Shanghai had high burnout, depression, anxiety and insomnia levels during the epidemic outbreak in Shanghai. During the COVID-19, medical staff may suffer different psychological problems which should be concerned. Care and supports about burnout, mental health and insomnia need to be taken to promote the mental health of medical staff according to different characteristics of medical staff.
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Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19) is the most severe epidemic that is prevalent all over the world. How quickly and accurately identifying COVID-19 is of great significance to controlling the spread speed of the epidemic. Moreover, it is essential to accurately and rapidly identify COVID-19 lesions by analyzing Chest X-ray images. As we all know, image segmentation is a critical stage in image processing and analysis. To achieve better image segmentation results, this paper proposes to improve the multi-verse optimizer algorithm using the Rosenbrock method and diffusion mechanism named RDMVO. Then utilizes RDMVO to calculate the maximum Kapur's entropy for multilevel threshold image segmentation. This image segmentation scheme is called RDMVO-MIS. We ran two sets of experiments to test the performance of RDMVO and RDMVO-MIS. First, RDMVO was compared with other excellent peers on IEEE CEC2017 to test the performance of RDMVO on benchmark functions. Second, the image segmentation experiment was carried out using RDMVO-MIS, and some meta-heuristic algorithms were selected as comparisons. The test image dataset includes Berkeley images and COVID-19 Chest X-ray images. The experimental results verify that RDMVO is highly competitive in benchmark functions and image segmentation experiments compared with other meta-heuristic algorithms.
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The purpose of the study is to determine the factors of online fast food-buying intention among Bangladeshi Millennials during the COVID-19 pandemic. The study adopted the Value-Attitude-Behavior (VAB) model and designed it as a higher-order constructs model to predict buying intention. Using a quantitative method (i.e., cross-sectional survey), data was collected from 325 respondents via a structured questionnaire and subsequently analyzed using Structural Equation Modeling (SEM) through AMOS software. The findings of the study revealed that convenience and food quality generate utilitarian values, while subjective norms and novelty-seeking form hedonic values. Also, utilitarian and hedonic values significantly affect cognitive and affective attitudes. As opposed to food quality, the cognitive attitude, affective attitude, self-identity, and subjective norms were observed to affect behavioral intention, with affective attitude producing the strongest association, albeit with the high explanatory power of the model. Consequently, this study offers a number of theoretical and policy implications to design better interventions that address public health regarding fast food consumption.
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Kashgar is a prefecture in Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region. China. Kashgar Prefecture (KP) is a land-cargo port connecting China with central Asian countries and Europe. Frequent transportation of cargo has increased the risk of severe acute respiratory syndrome-coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) introduction into China, which has increased the pressure on coronavirus disease-2019 (COVID-19) prevention and control. In November 2020, an imported virus-induced COVID-19 outbreak occurred in KP. To investigate the genetic characterization of SARS-CoV-2 that contaminated the trucks and containers, and the potential of border rapid logistics system to serve as carriers for SARS-CoV-2 transmission, thirty-five SARS-CoV-2-positive nucleic-acid samples collected from KP cross-border trucks and containers from 6-10 November 2020 were subjected into SARS-CoV-2 genomic sequencing and comparative analyses. The results showed that the median (minimum to maximum) Ct value of ORF1ab was 37.64 (28.91-39.81) . and that of the N gene was 36.50 (26.35-39.30), and the median (minimum to maximum) of the reads mapping ratio to SARS-CoV-2 was 51.95% (0.86%-99.31%), which indicated low viral loads in these environmental samples. Eighteen of 35 samples had genomic coverage >70%. According to the Pango nomenclature, 18 SARS-CoV-2 sequences belonged to six lineages (B.1, B.I.1, B.1.9. B.1.1.220, B.1.153 and B.1.465), three of which (B.I. B.1.1 and 8.1.153) were found in case samples from the same period of four China-neighboring countries. Analyses of nucleotide mutations and phylogenetic trees showed that the genome sequences of SARS-CoV-2 collected from the same location were similar. Four of 18 sequences were in a sub-lineage with the representative strain of COVID-19 outbreak in KP, one of which had 1 or 2 differences in nucleotide mutation sites with the strain that caused the COVID-19 outbreak in KP, which indicated high homology in the viral genome. We showed that cross-border trucks and containers were contaminated by various genotypes of SARS-CoV-2 from other countries during the outbreak in KP. and in which contained the parental virus of the KP cases. These trucks and containers served as carriers for SARS-CoV-2 introduction from other countries to cause local transmission. Our results provide important references for COVID-19 prevention-and-control strategies in border ports and tracing of outbreak sources in China.
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Potatoes play an important role in ensuring food security. During the COVID-19 epidemic, consumption of processed potato products decreased, and consumption of fresh potatoes increased. China is the world’s largest potato producer with more than 4.81 million hectares of area under potato production and 90.32 million metric tonnes of potatoes produced in 2018. This accounts for 27.36% of the world’s planting area and 24.53% of the world’s potato production. The proportion of potatoes processed in China was about 12% in 2017, mostly dominated by starch production. However, the recent policy of the Chinese government to popularise potato as a staple food has created new markets for processed potato products other than starch. A very few reports have analysed these future trends of the rapidly growing Chinese potato processing industry and its impact within and outside China. This paper provides an overview of the latest developments with a focus on processed potato products such as potato chips, French fries and dehydrated potatoes, and also, due to the unique Chinese diet culture, it highlights the need for more scientific research dedicated towards the development of novel potato-based healthy foods.
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This study explored whether ego depletion mediated the relationship between illegitimate tasks and nurses' work engagement. We recruited 760 Chinese nurses at three tertiary hospitals and a general hospital to complete a survey on illegitimate tasks, ego depletion, and work engagement. The results show that illegitimate tasks were negatively related to work engagement and that ego depletion partially mediated this relationship. These results provide a theoretical reference to improve nurses' work engagement through avoiding illegitimate tasks.
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Purpose: We aimed to summarize the diagnostic strategies used to identify potential patients with COVID-19 among inbound overseas travelers in Xiamen, China.Methods: From October 2020 to December 2020, 180,000 inbound overseas travelers were subjected to government quarantine in Xiamen, China. We evaluated the screening efficiency of combining viral and antibody testing strategies to identify potential patients with COVID-19. Results: The COVID-19 positive rate was 0.17% (306/180,000). There was no difference between the combined PCR and antibody and the PCR testing strategy for screening COVID-19(2.0 [IQR,2.0–3.0] vs. 2.0[IQR,2.0–2.0]; P= 0.175). The results for the combined screening strategy were available 4 days earlier than those for the PCR testing strategy (3.0 [IQR, 3.0–3.0] vs. 7.0[IQR, 7.0–14.0], P=0.000). Compared with the non-key screening population, the key screening population showed less PCR rounds (2.0 [IQR, 2.0–2.0] vs. 2.0[IQR, 2.0–3.0]; (P=0.008) and time (3.0[IQR, 3.0–3.0] vs. 7.0[IQR, 7.0–14.0]; P=0.000) for screening COVID-19. Conclusion: Combining viral and antibody testing strategies is effective; it allows timely identification of the source of COVID-19 infection. Moreover, this strategy can be used for close contacts or sub-close contacts of patients with COVID-19 to reduce the risk of SARS-CoV-2 transmission.
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COVID-19ABSTRACT
Financial events in global energy markets could trigger extreme volatility spillovers and even become financial crises without effective risk management. To analyze extreme volatility spillovers in energy markets and demonstrate how risks are spread under extreme market conditions, this paper first measures the extreme volatility spillovers in the main energy markets from 2011 to 2019 using the vine Copula model then constructs the extreme volatility spillover networks based on their tail dependence correlations. Furthermore, the extreme risk spread is investigated by applying clique analysis. In consideration of the recent shock namely the COVID-19 pandemic, we further analyze the energy markets' extreme volatility spillovers in 2020. We find that extreme volatility spillover effects are stronger in renewable energy markets, especially during market booms and it also reflects an asymmetry feature of the energy markets’ extreme volatility spillovers. The water energy market is influential in the extreme volatility spillover networks. More significantly, there are strong volatility spillover effects among renewable energy markets, while risks are less likely to spread among non-renewable energy markets under extreme circumstances. We make contributions to reveal the volatility spillover under extreme conditions, then comprehensively analyze the risk spread in the extreme volatility spillover networks. By comparing how risks spread before and during the COVID-19, and between renewable and non-renewable energy markets, our findings could be of great help for policymakers and other stakeholders to cope with the uncertainties, especially in the extreme environment.
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This reprinted chapter originally appeared in Journal of Gerontological Social Work, 2020, 63[6-7], 646-650. (The following of the original article appeared in record 2021-00510-019.) The pandemic has further exposed the lack of experience and resources for NHs to respond to Public Health Emergencies (PHE). In fact, during other outbreaks of infectious disease including SARS in 2003, H1N1 influenza virus in 2009, H7N9 bird flu in 2013, Middle East Respiratory Syndrome (MERS) in 2015, Ebola in 2018, and COVID-19 in 2020, densely populated settlements of older individuals at not only NHs but also long-term care institutions such as skilled nursing and assisted living institutions, have always been the most vulnerable. At this stage, it is time for us to seriously reflect on how to ensure that NHs can respond to and survive disasters, stress, or changes of the environment, that is, how to enhance our resilience to future health threats. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2022 APA, all rights reserved)
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Purpose Investgate the willingness of CKD patients to receive a COVID-19 booster vaccine dose and analyze the related factors of COVID-19 booster vaccine willingness in such patients.Methods An online questionnaire investigation addressing participants’ willingness to receive a booster dose of COVID-19 vaccine was organized among patients with chronic kidney disease in Taizhou, China.Result A total of 350 valid copies were retrieved, among which 246 respondents (70.29%) were willing to receive a COVID-19 booster vaccine dose. Binary logistic regression analysis showed that high perceived vaccine safety and effectiveness, non-hemodialysis treatment, and one or two rounds of COVID-19 vaccine were related to COVID-19 booster vaccine willingness of CKD patients. Therefore, enhancing propaganda on safety and efficacy of COVID-19 vaccine for CKD patients, raising their awareness about vaccination, and increasing vaccination of the first and second rounds can help increase the COVID-19 booster vaccination rate.
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COVID-19ABSTRACT
Purpose The purpose of this study was to evaluate how the “COVID-19 prevention and control measures” changed nosocomial infections in neurosurgery.Methods To explore changes in nosocomial infections in neurosurgery during the COVID-19 pandemic, the clinical data of inpatients of neurosurgery from January 1, 2020, to April 30, 2020 (COVID-19 era) were first analyzed and then compared with the same period in 2019 (pre-COVID-19 era). We also analyzed data from May 1, 2020, and December 31, 2020 (post-COVID-19 era) at the same time in 2019 (second pre-COVID-19 era).Results The nosocomial infection rate was 7.85% (54/688) in the pre-COVID-19 era and 4.30% (26/605) in the COVID-19 era (P = 0.011). Between the pre-COVID-19 and COVID-19 eras, the respiratory system infection rate was 6.1% vs. 2.0% (P < 0.001) and the urinary system was 1.7% vs. 2.0% (P = 0.837). Between the pre-COVID-19 and COVID-19 eras, the proportion of respiratory system and urinary infections in total nosocomial infections was 77.78% (42/54) vs. 46.15% (12/26) and 22.22% (12/54) vs. 46.15% (12/26), respectively, (P = 0.006). Between the second pre-COVID-19( ) and post-COVID-19 eras, the proportion of respiratory system and urinary infections in total nosocomial infections was 53.7% (44/82) vs. 40.6% (39/96) and 24.4% (20/82) vs. 40.6% (39/96), respectively, (P = 0.022).Conclusions The COVID-19 pandemic reduced the incidence of nosocomial infection in neurosurgery, and the main reduction was in respiratory infection, while the proportion of urinary infections in total nosocomial infections increased significantly.
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COVID-19ABSTRACT
The rapid spread of the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) pandemic in over 200 countries poses a substantial threat to human health. Severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2), which causes COVID-19, can be discharged with feces into the drainage system. However, a comprehensive understanding of the occurrence, presence, and potential transmission of SARS-CoV-2 in sewers, especially in community sewers, is still lacking. This study investigated the virus occurrence by viral nucleic acid testing in vent stacks, septic tanks, and the main sewer outlets of community where confirmed patients had lived during the outbreak of the epidemic in Wuhan, China. The results indicated that the risk of long-term emission of SARS-CoV-2 to the environment via vent stacks of buildings was low after confirmed patients were hospitalized. SARS-CoV-2 were mainly detected in the liquid phase, as opposed to being detected in aerosols, and its RNA in the sewage of septic tanks could be detected for only four days after confirmed patients were hospitalized. The surveillance of SARS-CoV-2 in sewage could be a sensitive indicator for the possible presence of asymptomatic patients in the community, though the viral concentration could be diluted more than 10 times, depending on the sampling site, as indicated by the Escherichia coli (E. coli) test. The comprehensive investigation of the community sewage drainage system is helpful to understand the occurrence characteristics of SARS-CoV-2 in sewage after excretion with feces and the feasibility of sewage surveillance for COVID-19 pandemic monitoring.
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BACKGROUND: The COVID-19 pandemic could increase the number of older adults who are socially isolated including community-dwelling older adults, and result in the secondary damage of mental health. This study aimed to examine the longitudinal association between social isolation transitions and psychological distress among the community-dwelling older adults before and during the COVID-19 pandemic in rural China. METHODS: A total of 2749 community-dwelling older adults aged 60 years and older in rural Shandong, China were included. We used the generalized estimating equations (GEE) model to estimate the impact of social isolation transitions on psychological distress before and during the COVID-19 pandemic. RESULTS: The percentage of high and very high psychological distress (K10 ≥ 22) was 23.54% and 31.36% before and during the COVID-19 pandemic, respectively, indicating a 7.82% increase (P < 0.001). Compared with the group remaining nonisolated, "became socially isolated" and "remained isolated" groups were more likely to have a deterioration of psychological distress after experiencing the COVID-19 pandemic (became socially isolated: b = 0.92, P < 0.001; remained isolated: b = 0.98, P < 0.001). LIMITATIONS: The main variables in this study were measured by self-report information, which might result in recall bias. CONCLUSIONS: During the COVID-19 pandemic, psychological distress increased among the community-dwelling older adults in rural China. There was a significant risk of psychological distress among those who had transitioned from nonisolation before the pandemic to social isolation after experiencing the pandemic, thus intervention on social isolation process during the pandemic may be important to protect older adults' mental health.
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COVID-19 , Psychological Distress , Aged , COVID-19/epidemiology , China/epidemiology , Humans , Longitudinal Studies , Middle Aged , Pandemics , SARS-CoV-2 , Social IsolationABSTRACT
Objective: To investigate the clinical features of patients with severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) Delta variant infection and abnormal liver function in Guangdong Province, China.
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Background: Some studies found that family doctor contract services (FDCSs) had positive impact on the self-measurement behaviors of hypertension patients. However, evidence concerning the association between FDCSs and blood pressure measurement awareness among hypertension patients is not clear. Objective: This study aims to explore the relationship between FDCSs and blood pressure measurement awareness among the hypertension patients, and examine whether there is a difference in this relationship among middle-aged and aged adults in rural Shandong, China. Methods: A multi-stage stratified random sampling was adopted in 2018 in Shandong Province to conduct a questionnaire survey among the sample residents, in which 982 hypertension patients were included in the study. Pearson chi-square test and logistic regression model were employed using SPSS 24.0 to explore the association between FDCSs and blood pressure measurement awareness. Results: 76.8% of hypertension patients would measure blood pressure regularly. The blood pressure measurement awareness of the signing group was significantly higher than that of the non-signing group when controlling other variables (P < 0.001, OR = 2.075, 95% CI 1.391-3.095). The interaction of age and contracting status were significantly correlated with blood pressure measurement awareness (P = 0.042, OR = 1.747, 95% CI 1.020-2.992; P = 0.019, OR = 2.060, 95% CI 1.129-3.759). Factors including gender (P = 0.011, OR = 0.499, 95% CI 0.291-0.855), household income (P = 0.031, OR = 1.764, 95% CI 1.052-2.956), smoking status (P = 0.002, OR = 0.439, 95% CI 0.260-0.739), sports habits (P < 0.001, OR = 2.338, 95% CI 1.679-3.257), self-reported health (P = 0.031, OR = 1.608, 95% CI 1.043-2.477), distance to the village clinic (P = 0.006, OR = 1.952, 95% CI 1.208-3.153) and medications (P < 0.001, OR = 3.345, 95% CI 2.282-4.904) were also found to be associated with the blood pressure measurement awareness of hypertension patients. Conclusion: The government should take efforts to strengthen publicity and education of family doctors and pay more attention to uncontracted, middle-aged, female patients and patients with unhealthy life behaviors to improve the blood pressure measurement awareness.