Aircraft noise prediction capability development: An overview of flight profile creation

The outbreak of COVID-19 pandemic has led to the implementation of remote work as one of the safe management measures at workplaces. Consequently, most of the population has been staying home in the daytime-a period when the volume of air traffic may be higher. For residents staying near to an airport, their work concentration may be adversely affected by aircraft noise, not to mention that prolonged exposure could cause health problems. Hence, it is crucial to consider how aircraft noise can be predicted using noise maps. Before any noise management measures can be assessed for feasibility, aircraft noise prediction is first necessary to unveil how residential areas are affected. This paper presents an overview of the aircraft noise prediction capability that has been developed based on ECAC Doc. 29. The computation procedure involves flight profile creation, sound propagation physics correction, and noise map generation. The scope of this paper is limited to flight profile creation. Critical output parameters were compared against that of SoundPLAN. Results showed that the developed code can accurately compute both departure and arrival flight profiles. © ICA 2022.All rights reserved

Understanding coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) vaccine hesitancy: Evidence from the community-driven knowledge site Quora.

Objective: The present study aims to examine the threshold of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) vaccine hesitancy over time and public discourse around COVID-19 vaccination hesitancy. Methods: We collected 3,952 questions and 66,820 answers regarding COVID-19 vaccination posted on the social question-and-answer website Quora between June 2020 and June 2021 and employed Word2Vec and Sentiment Analysis to analyze the data. To examine changes in the perceptions and hesitancy about the COVID-19 vaccine, we segmented the data into 25 bi-weekly sections. Results: As positive sentiment about vaccination increased, the number of new vaccinations in the United States also increased until it reached a ceiling point. The vaccine hesitancy phase was identified by the decrease in positive sentiment from its highest peak. Words that occurred only when the positive answer rate peaked (e.g., safe, plan, best, able, help) helped explain factors associated with positive perceptions toward vaccines, and the words that occurred only when the negative answer rate peaked (e.g., early, variant, scientists, mutations, effectiveness) suggested factors associated with vaccine hesitancy. We also identified a period of vaccine resistance, where people who decided not to be vaccinated were unlikely to be vaccinated without further enforcement or incentive. Conclusions: Findings suggest that vaccine hesitancy occurred because concerns about vaccine safety were high due to a perceived lack of scientific evidence and public trust in healthcare authorities has been seriously undermined. Considering that vaccine-related conspiracy theories and fake news prevailed in the absence of reliable information sources, restoring public trust in healthcare leaders will be critical for future vaccination efforts.

Home based peritoneal dialysis training during COVID-19 era: A single centre experience

Introduction: COVID-19 disease has been declared as a pandemic since February 2020. Resulting from this, home peritoneal dialysis training programme was implemented. However, infectious complications was one of our major concerns. Material(s) and Method(s): This is a single centre, observational, retrospective study. We recruited patients who were newly enrolled into the peritoneal dialysis programme from January 2020 until March 2021 and follow up them for 6 months duration. Patients' demographic data, baseline characteristic, clinical outcome were collected through electronic health record (eHIS) and data were analysed using SPSS version 23. Result(s): A total of 133 patients were enrolled into the peritoneal dialysis programme. The median age of the patients was 55(42-65) years old. Most of the patients were on CAPD, 87(65.4%), and 76(57.1%) of them were on self-care peritoneal dialysis (PD). During this observational period, 29(21.8%) patients underwent hospital based training, while a total of 104(78.2%) patients underwent home based training. The PD peritonitis rate for hospital based training was 1 episode per 55.8 patient months while home based training group was 1 episode per 25.4 patient month. The survival free to 1st PD peritonitis for home based training was 83.7% over 6 months. The exit site infection rate was 1 episode per 73.1 patient month. Conclusion(s): Home based PD training should be encouraged especially during Covid-19 pandemic period, but standardised training protocol should be implemented to improve the clinical outcome of our patients.

IMPACT OF COVID-19 RELATED DISRUPTIONS TO COLORECTAL CANCER SCREENING PROGRAMS IN THREE COUNTRIES: A COMPARATIVE MODELLING STUDY

Background Colorectal cancer (CRC) screening programs worldwide have been disruptedduring the COVID-19 pandemic. CRC screening has been well-established to reduce longtermCRC incidence and mortality. Any disruption to screening would reduce these healthbenefits. This study aimed to estimate the impact of hypothetical disruptions to organizedCRC screening programs on short and long-term CRC incidence and mortality in threecountries using microsimulation modelling.Methods Using well-calibrated and validated CRC microsimulation models for Australia(Policy1-Bowel), Canada (OncoSim) and the Netherlands (ASCCA and MISCAN-Colon)participating in the COVID-19 and Cancer Global Modelling Consortium (CCGMC), wesimulated a range of hypothetical scenarios to assess the potential impact of disruptions toscreening on CRC incidence and mortality. All models simulate the adenoma-carcinomapathway, and ASCCA and Policy1-Bowel additionally simulate the serrated pathway. Modelledscenarios varied by disruption duration (3-, 6 and 12-months), post-disruption participationreduction (3-months -50% and 3-months -25%, and 6-months -50%), and catchupscreening strategies (no catch-up, immediate, and 6-months delayed catch-up).Results Without catch-up screening, CRC incidence would increase by 0.1-0.3%, 0.2-0.6%,and 0.4-1.2% over 2020-2050 among individuals aged 50 years and older in the three modelled countries after 3-, 6-, and 12-month disruptions, respectively (Figure 1). CRCmortality would increase by 0.2-0.5%, 0.4-1.0%, and 0.8-2.0% over 2020-2050 amongindividuals aged 50 years and older in the three modelled countries after 3-, 6-, and 12-month disruptions, respectively, compared to undisrupted screening (Figure 2). A 6-monthdisruption without catch-up would result in an estimated 3,552, 2,844 and 803-1,803additional CRC diagnoses and an estimated 1,964, 1,319, and 676-856 additional CRCrelateddeaths in Australia, Canada and the Netherlands, respectively, compared to undisruptedscreening. A post-disruption reduction in participation could increase CRC diagnosesby 0.2-0.9% and CRC-related deaths by 0.5-1.6% compared to undisrupted screeningdepending on the size of the reduction in participation. Providing catch-up could minimizethe impact of the disruption to an increase of 0.0-0.2% in CRC diagnoses and CRCrelateddeaths.Conclusion Although the relative impact of the modelled CRC screening disruptions (whenconsidered over the long-term, 30 years) due to the COVID-19 pandemic appears modest,given a high burden of CRC, there is a substantial impact on CRC diagnoses and deathsacross all countries considered. It is crucial that, if disrupted, screening programs ensureparticipation rates return to previously observed rates and provide catch-up screening whereverpossible, as the impact of any disruption could be considerably larger otherwise.(Image Presented)Change in CRC incidence relative to the comparator scenario (no disruption) by MISCANColon,ASCCA, Policy1-Bowel and OncoSim Abbreviations: CRC, Colorectal Cancer. Note:the base case scenario is the scenario in which a 6-month disruption period from Aprilto September 2020 was assumed, with no catch-up or changes to participation in therecovery period.(Image Presented)Change in CRC mortality relative to the comparator scenario by MISCAN-Colon, ASCCA,Policy1-Bowel and OncoSim Abbreviations: CRC, Colorectal Cancer. Note: the base casescenario is the scenario in which a 6-month disruption period from April to September2020 was assumed, with no catch-up or changes to participation in the recovery period.

Towards a User-Level Self-management of COVID-19 Using Mobile Devices Supported by Artificial Intelligence, 5G and the Cloud

The fatal outbreak of COVID-19 has placed its fear around the globe since it was first reported in Wuhan, China, in November 2019. COVID-19 has placed all countries and governments across the world in an unstable position. Most countries underwent partial or full lock down due to the dearth of resources to fight the COVID-19 outbreak, primarily due to the challenges of overloaded healthcare systems. The tally of confirmed COVID-19 cases via laboratory continues to increase around the globe, with reportedly 60.5 million confirmed cases as of November 2020. Evidently, innovation has an imperative function to empower the omnipresent health technologies in order to counter the impacts of COVID-19 in a post-pandemic period. More specifically, the Fifth Generation (5G) cellular network and 5G-empowered e-health and Artificial Intelligence (AI) based arrangements are of on the spotlight. This research explores the use of AI and 5G technologies to help alleviate the effects of COVID-19 spread. The novel approach is based on the premises that the COVID-19 vaccine may take years to rollout effectively, whereas the AI and 5G technologies offer effective solutions to reduce the Covid-19 spread within weeks. Currently, the approaches such as contact tracing and virus testing are not secure and reliable;and the cost of testing is high for end users. The proposed solution offers a self-diagnostic mechanism without any security risk of the users’ data with very low cost using cloud-based data analytics using mobile handsets. © 2021, Springer Nature Switzerland AG.

Inconsistencies in detecting rdrp gene by rdrp confirmatory assay leading to false negative covid-19 results: A case report from a district referral hospital

Reverse transcriptase polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR) assays for coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) should be interpreted with clinical, epidemiological history and exposure risk to avoid misdiagnosis. We report a cruise-ship worker with significant travelling history, presented with acute respiratory symptoms and radiographic evidence of viral pneumonia. Initial RNA-dependent RNA polymerase (RdRp) gene confirmatory assay was negative. Use of a more robust RT-PCR assay detected ORF1ab, N and S genes for COVID-19, and the diagnosis was supported by an IgM and IgG positive COVID-19 serology. Subsequent follow up samples which reported inconsistencies in detecting RdRp gene also raise the concern of reliability of RdRp gene as the confirmatory assay for diagnosis of COVID-19. Patient later had prolonged viral shedding beyond serological recovery, with a negative viral culture reflecting non-infectivity.

Impact of COVID-19 related disruptions to colorectal cancer screening programs in threecountries: A comparative modelling study

Aims Colorectal cancer (CRC) screening programs worldwide have been disrupted during the COVID-19 pandemic. Thisstudy aimed to estimate the impact of hypothetical disruptions to organized FIT-based CRC screening programs on short-and long-term CRC incidence and mortality in three countries using microsimulation modelling. Methods Using CRC microsimulation models for Australia (Policy1-Bowel), Canada (OncoSim) and the Netherlands (ASCCAand MISCAN-Colon) participating in the COVID-19 and Cancer Global Modelling Consortium (CCGMC), we simulated a rangeof scenarios to assess the potential impact of disruptions to screening on CRC incidence and mortality. Modelled scenariosvaried by disruption duration (3-, 6-and 12-months), post-disruption participation reduction, and catch-up screeningstrategy (no catch-up, immediate and 6-month delayed catch-up). Results Without catch-up screening, CRC incidence increased by 0.1-0.3 %, 0.2-0.6 %, and 0.4-1.2 % over 2020-2050among individuals aged 50 years and older in the three modelled countries after 3-, 6-, and 12-month disruptions,respectively, compared to undisrupted screening and CRC mortality increased by 0.2-0.5 %, 0.4-1.0 %, and 0.8-2.0 % over2020-2050 among individuals aged 50 years and older compared to undisrupted screening. A 6-month disruption withoutcatch-up resulted in an estimated 3,552, 2,844 and 803-1,803 additional CRC diagnoses and 1,961, 1,319, and 678-881 additional CRC-related deaths in Australia, Canada and the Netherlands, respectively. A post-disruption reduction inparticipation increased CRC diagnoses by 0.2-0.9 % and CRC-related deaths by 0.5-1.6 % compared to undisruptedscreening. Providing catch-up screening minimized this impact to 0.0-0.2 %. Conclusions Although the relative impact of the modelled CRC screening disruptions due to the COVID-19 pandemicappears modest, given a high burden of CRC, there is a substantial impact on CRC diagnoses and deaths across allcountries considered. It is crucial that, if disrupted, screening programs ensure participation rates return to previouslyobserved rates and provide catch-up screening wherever possible, as the impact of any disruption could be considerablylarger otherwise.

The Critical Importance of Old World Fruit Bats for Healthy Ecosystems and Economies

Despite extensive documentation of the ecological and economic importance of Old World fruit bats (Chiroptera: Pteropodidae) and the many threats they face from humans, negative attitudes towards pteropodids have persisted, fuelled by perceptions of bats as being pests and undesirable neighbours. Such long-term negativity towards bats is now further exacerbated by more recent disease-related concerns, particularly associated with the current COVID-19 pandemic. There remains an urgent need to investigate and highlight the positive and beneficial aspects of bats across the Old World. While previous reviews have summarised these extensively, numerous new studies conducted over the last 36 years have provided further valuable data and insights which warrant an updated review. Here we synthesise research on pteropodid-plant interactions, comprising diet, ecological roles, and ecosystem services, conducted during 1985-2020. We uncovered a total of 311 studies covering 75 out of the known 201 pteropodid species (37%), conducted in 47 countries. The majority of studies documented diet (52% of all studies;67 pteropodid species), followed by foraging movement (49%;50 pteropodid species), with fewer studies directly investigating the roles played by pteropodids in seed dispersal (24%;41 pteropodid species), pollination (14%;19 pteropodid species), and conflict with fruit growers (12%;11 pteropodid species). Pteropodids were recorded feeding on 1072 plant species from 493 genera and 148 families, with fruits comprising the majority of plant parts consumed, followed by flowers/nectar/pollen, leaves, and other miscellaneous parts. Sixteen pteropodid species have been confirmed to act as pollinators for a total of 21 plant species, and 29 pteropodid species have been confirmed to act as seed dispersers for a total of 311 plant species. Anthropogenic threats disrupting bat-plant interactions in the Old World include hunting, direct persecution, habitat loss/disturbance, invasive species, and climate change, leading to ecosystem-level repercussions. We identify notable research gaps and important research priorities to support conservation action for pteropodids. © Copyright © 2021 Aziz, McConkey, Tanalgo, Sritongchuay, Low, Yong, Mildenstein, Nuevo-Diego, Lim and Racey.