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Service or Program: Operation Allies Welcome was a unified national humanitarian mission to support Afghanistan evacuees in the United States. The City of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania welcomed approximately 25,000 evacuees from Afghanistan between August and November 2021. This effort included a broad range of medical services including COVID-19 testing, vaccinations, and setting up a medication dispensary. Our pharmacy team was tasked with establishing and operating a dispensary to dispense limited supply of medications to patients for non-life-threatening conditions as they were bridged to definitive care. The objective of this is to describe the pharmacists' role within this coordinated emergency response. Justification/Documentation: This emergency response required that our pharmacy dispensary was adequately staffed and stocked with common medications for the target population. Our roles focused on establishment of standard operating procedures for the dispensary, dispensing medications, creation of a securely shared electronic inventory, creation of standardized staffing process, participation in vaccination efforts, and provision of drug-information. Overall, 1363 prescriptions, for both over the counter (OTC) and prescription medications, were dispensed. The dispensary stocked 82 different medications. Antipyretics, analgesics, antihistamines, prenatal vitamins, proton-pump inhibitors, and topical antibiotics were the most commonly dispensed OTC products. Frequently dispensed prescription medication classes included antibiotics, steroids, antiemetics, anti-diabetic and antihypertensives agents. We successfully leveraged the support of 66 volunteer pharmacists from 9 organizations around Philadelphia, including academic, hospital, non-profit, and pharmaceutical industry institutions. Adaptability: This program has a high level of adaptability for future emergency preparedness efforts. It serves as a playbook to guide pharmacists to respond to future emergencies. Significance: Our service provided much needed pharmacy support for Afghan evacuees. Our practical experiences demonstrated that pharmacists can effectively create and implement a dispensary during emergent crises. Findings from our operation add to the limited literature supporting the importance of pharmacists in these coordinated emergency responses.
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Background: Caring for a family member with cognitive impairment can be emotionally and physically exhausting. Caregiver challenges have been exacerbated by the COVID-19 pandemic. This qualitative study examined caregiving experiences during the pandemic, exploring what caregivers perceived as most important in their caregiving experience while navigating through the pandemic. Method(s): We enrolled 158 adults (non-Hispanic White (NHW): 66%;Latino: 16%;Black: 9%;Asian: 8%) caring for a family member with MCI, mild cognitive impairment, (35%) or dementia (65%). Approximately 37% were recruited from an Alzheimer's Disease Research Center (ADRC) and 63% from the community. Caregivers completed demographic questionnaires and open-ended questions about their experience during the pandemic. They were asked (1) what was the most important thing to them in terms of providing care;(2) if they felt that they had enough support to help them provide care;(3) how the COVID-19 pandemic has impacted them and the care they provide;and (4) what strategies have they used to help them provide care. Responses were open-coded by 2 teams of 2, who met several times with the principal investigator to discuss and refine the themes. Result(s): Several themes emerged from the analyses, including (1) caregivers managing their own physical health and safety, or that of their care recipient;(2) changes in relationship dynamics and familial support;(3) fluctuations in availability of formal support;(4) focus on wellness;and (5) employment/financial concerns brought upon by the pandemic. Conclusion(s): The pandemic has filled the lives of caregivers with more adversities and struggles, which can exacerbate the stress of caregiving and call attention to the need for more formal support. These findings highlight the urgent need for more online and at-home caregiving resources that can continue beyond the pandemic. Copyright © 2022 the Alzheimer's Association.
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COVID-19, caused by the novel coronavirus SARS-CoV-2, has put most of the world under lockdown. Despite approved vaccines, COVID-19 cases, hospitalizations, and deaths have remained on the rise. Rapid diagnosis and necessary public health measures are still key parts to contain the pandemic. Here, the colorimetric isothermal nucleic acid amplification tests (iNAATs) for SARS-CoV-2 detection based on loop-mediated isothermal amplification (LAMP), cross-priming amplification (CPA), and polymerase spiral reaction (PSR) were designed and compared in performance for the first time. The findings showed that, for the detection of SARS-CoV-2 genomic-RNA, LAMP outperformed both CPA and PSR, reaction mix exhibiting the limit of detection (LOD) of roughly 43.14 copies/reaction. The results can be read with the naked eye within 45 minutes, without cross-reactivity to closely related coronaviruses. The direct detection of SARS-CoV-2 RNA in simulated specimens by iNAATs was also successful. Additionally, the lyophilized reagents for LAMP reactions maintained the sensitivity and LOD of the liquid assays. The colorimetric LAMP assay was validated using clinical samples, showing 98.1% sensitivity and 100% specificity upon using extracted samples and 82.4% sensitivity and 86.2% specificity upon using unextracted specimens. The results indicate that the direct colorimetric LAMP assay developed is highly suitable for detecting SARS-CoV-2 at point-of-care.
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The COVID-19 pandemic has had a massive impact on the global aviation industry. As a result, the airline industry has been forced to embrace new technologies and procedures in order to provide a more secure and bio-safe travel. Currently, the role of smart technology in airport systems has expanded significantly as a result of the contemporary Industry 4.0 context. The article presents a novel construction of an intelligent mobile robot system to guide passengers to take the plane at the departure terminals at busy airports. The robot provides instructions to the customer through the interaction between the robot and the customer utilizing voice communications. The usage of the Google Cloud Speech-to-Text API combined with technical machine learning to analyze and understand the customer's requirements are deployed. In addition, we use a face detection technique based on Multi-task Cascaded Convolutional Networks (MTCNN) to predict the distance between the robot and passengers to perform the function. The robot can guide passengers to desired areas in the terminal. The results and evaluation of the implementation process are also mentioned in the article and show promise.
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Purpose: This paper aims to identify and assess global risks in the supply chain performance. Design/methodology/approach: First, global risks are identified and classified according to three criteria: content, probability and context. A set of supply chain performance indicators are then defined by the theory of resource-based view and balanced scorecard. Structural equation modeling is adopted to access risks in the global supply chain. Findings: This article contributes to the supply chain risk management literature by providing a detailed operationalization of global supply chain risk constructs, e.g. natural disasters, war and terrorism, fire accidents, economic and political instability, social and cultural grievances, decease. Empirical results reveal that the supply chain is predominantly regarded as being vulnerable as the proposed model of risks can explain up to 12.6% variance of supplier performance, 25.2% innovation and learning, 23% internal business, 40.6% customer service and 32.4% finance. Research limitations/implications: These risks are relevant contextual variables in strategic supply chain decisions. Supply chain managers should keep in mind acceptable cost/benefit tradeoffs in their firms' mitigation efforts associated with major contingency risks. This research advocates the allocation of scarce resources to adopt the supply chain strategies of avoidance, speculative and postponement. Originality/value: The application of the strategic content/process/context to explain global supply chain performance is an interesting approach. Moreover, globalization trends and the COVID-19 perspectives are considered to be the main reasons for increasing such complex factors. Data on validating research models collected during the COVID-19 pandemic reflect the topicality of this study. © 2022, Emerald Publishing Limited.
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Background: Cancer is known to increase the risk of VTE when compared to the non-cancer population. Additionally, SARS-CoV-2 infection has been associated with hypercoagulability and VTE. A study by Patell et al noted similar cumulative incidence of thrombotic events (arterial and venous) in patients hospitalized with COVID-19 with active cancer than those without cancer (14.2% vs 18.2%). Data from the COVID-19 and Cancer Consortium (CCC19) Registry reported incidence of VTE of 7.6% in cancer patients within 90 days of hospitalization for COVID-19. However, it is unknown whether patients with cancer are at significantly higher risk for VTE in the setting of COVID-19 compared to cancer patients without COVID-19. Our study objectives were to: 1) determine the overall incidence of VTE in patients with cancer with and without COVID-19, regardless of hospitalization status;2) assess the relative risk of VTE due to COVID-19 in cancer patients;3) examine risk for VTE in cancer patients with COVID-19 based on certain demographic characteristics and comorbidities. Methods: An institutional retrospective cohort analysis was performed from March 1, 2020 through July 31, 2021. 228 patients with COVID-19 and cancer were identified and compared to matched controls without COVID-19 (n = 448) during the same study period based on age, gender, and BMI. Results: Incidence of VTE in cancer patients with COVID-19 was significantly higher than in cancer patients without COVID-19 (11% vs 3.1%) [RR 3.45, 95% CI 1.85-6.67]. There was no significantly increased risk of VTE in cancer patients with COVID-19 based on the following characteristics: non-White race, male gender, diabetes mellitus, hypertension, coronary artery disease, congestive heart failure, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, chronic kidney disease, and end-stage renal disease receiving dialysis. However, patients with any history of smoking (including current smokers) had increased risk of VTE compared to never-smokers (RR 2.2756, 95% CI 1.0498-4.9326). Conclusions: COVID-19 further increases the risk of VTE in cancer patients, a population with an independent risk factor for VTE at baseline. Whether the increased risk is additive or synergistic is currently unknown. Demographic factors and comorbidities that have been associated with increased severity of COVID-19 in other studies do not appear to significantly increase risk of VTE in cancer patients with COVID-19, with the exception of smoking status (either current or past). Given the impact on morbidity and mortality, further analyses, including with larger datasets, are warranted.
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This paper details the research design of a multidisciplinary, multi-method, collaborative research project investigating health communication from the experiences of the early childhood education (ECE) sector during the COVID-19 pandemic. With the rapidly evolving pandemic, the ECE sector was instantly tasked with expanding their required health practices to prevent the spread of infection. It was evident that the sector needed a system to communicate health advice in a timely, consistent and effective manner. Founded on a partnership model based on 'knowledge brokering' theory, this project demonstrates the value of a multidisciplinary research team collaborating with stakeholder organisations to investigate how COVID-19 health information traversed through complexities of organisational layers and diverse communities of families and staff. Detailing our data collection and analysis protocols, we conclude by outlining how our innovative research design is generating actionable and impactful recommendations for both the ECE and health sectors.
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Maintaining and expanding brand equity is regarded as an essential component of brand development. Effective management of brand equity leads to more opportunities for brand extension and the ability to draw in more customers. Brand equity, in particular, has a positive impact on consumer purchase intention. The purpose of this study is to look into the relationships between brand equity and consumption intention from the perspective of Vietnamese customers of India's COVID-19 vaccine products. Primary data is aggregated from 475 Vietnamese citizens with different occupations and backgrounds 18 years of age or older. The findings of the study show that consumption intention is positively inspired by brand equity, including brand association and brand quality. If consumers perceive high brand equity, it will have a higher impact on promoting consumption intention to the brand. India's COVID-19 vaccine needs to invest more in building brand equity in the Vietnamese market if it wants to increase the consumption choices of Vietnamese people. To create a good brand association and brand quality for India's COVID-19 vaccine, it is necessary to focus on communicating the good properties of the Indian-made vaccine such as safe, high protective effect, high immunity and protection, and long duration of immunity of vaccines.
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This paper presents a numerical investigation of Ultraviolet (UV) disinfection performance against the recently explored SARS-CoV-2 Virus. The UV lighting source is of a vertical lamp supposed to be put in popular mobile UV-C devices. The Finite Volume Method (FVM) and Discrete Ordinates (DO) model are adopted to deal with UV irradiance. Various results for the formation of an effective disinfection zone, detailed disinfection rate, and UV exposure duration are discussed and analyzed in detail. Results show that the bactericidal influence against SARS-CoV-2 viruses, which is strongest in the horizontal central plane through the UV lamp, can be significantly increased with the upgrade in the lamp power utilized. Furthermore, the UV exposure duration is found to have a considerable effect on the disinfection performance. Specifically, the disinfection rate is greatly improved, resulting in a remarkable expansion in the effective disinfection zone with a longer exposure period. Furthermore, the exposure duration required for 90% total viruses being eliminated with different lamp wattages are reported. © 2022, The Author(s), under exclusive license to Springer Nature Singapore Pte Ltd.
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The devastating spread caused by Severe Acute Respiratory Disorder - Coronavirus (SARS-CoV-2) which is also known as COVID-2019 has brought global threat to our society. Every country is making immense efforts to stop the spread of the deadly disease through the use of finance, infrastructure and data sources, as well as protective devices, life-risk treatments, as well as other sources. Researchers studying artificial intelligence focus their skills to create mathematical models for studying the scourge of this disease using and shared data. In order to improve the wellbeing of our society. This article proposes using model of deep and machine-learning to understand its daily exponential behavior, as well as the prediction of the future impact of the COVID-2019 across nations using the live data of the Johns Hopkins dashboard © 2022 IEEE.
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The COVID-19 pandemic imposes huge challenges on urban development with its impacts on reshaping cities. Saigon-Ho Chi Minh City (HCMC), Vietnam is a typical mega-city with high population density coping with urban infrastructural issues. As social distancing and restrictions on the use of public space have been the key measures to deal with the pandemic, the communal areas in HCMC have been affected from both social and urban design aspects. The paper aims to explore the impacts during and after the COVID-19 epidemic on the public space in HCMC with the case study of four apartment residences in four different districts. It is carried on with 400 surveys and in-depth interviews with the apartment managers. Then, the case of public space in HCMC will be discussed to have a specific look into the issues in the global context. The article argues that despite the consequences of the pandemic to public areas, citizens’ need for these types of city elements persists. Finally, it provides suggestions for reshaping post-pandemic public spaces in both societies’ perception and urban planning strategy.
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Purpose: This paper presents the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on Vietnam's tourism industry to propose appropriate recovery strategies in the future. Design/methodology/approach: This study uses a combination of research methods. Data were collected from the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism, General Statistics Office, Vietnam National Administration of Tourism and Ministry of Health. Non-parametric statistical methods were applied to analyze the differences between epidemic and non-epidemic periods and find correlations between the number of infections and data related to the performance of the tourism industry. In-depth interviews with 20 people linked to tourism activities were conducted to analyze the impacts and propose strategies for future recovery. Findings: The results demonstrate the severe impact of the pandemic on Vietnam's tourism industry based on a decrease in the number of visitors, business activities, revenue and employment rate. Therefore, to recover tourism – Vietnam's key economic sector in the future – developing reasonable strategies to build a safe tourism environment, building a sustainable tourist market, diversifying and improving tourism high-quality tourism products, marketing, human resources, digital transformation and sustainable tourism are necessary, along with the development trend of the industry after COVID-19. Originality/value: This paper synchronously and systematically presents the effects of COVID-19 on Vietnam's tourism industry based on official data. Strategies are proposed to handle these effects on a reliable scientific basis. This study can be considered a valuable reference for researchers and managers of tourism in developing countries, such as Vietnam. © 2022, Hoa Dinh Vu, Anh Thi Ngoc Nguyen, Nga Thi Phuong Nguyen and Duy Ba Tran.
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Background. Prior to SARS-CoV-2 vaccination availability, medical centers workers were at significant COVID-19 (COVID) infection risk. As part of a program offering free SARS-CoV-2 serology tests to medical center employees, we examined risk factors for prior COVID infection. Methods. From Sept. to Dec. 2020, we advertised free IgG antibody testing to all Los Angeles County-Univ. of Southern California Medical Center (LAC+USC) workforce members (clinical and non-clinical) via repeated email blasts. Antibody was determined using the Abbott SARS-Cov-2 IgG test against SARS-CoV-2 nucleocapsid protein. Program participants were asked to fill out a detailed epidemiologic questionnaire about work and non-work COVID risks on their cell phone or on paper at the time of phlebotomy. All testing was done prior to COVID vaccine availability. Results. Among approximately 10,500 workforce members, 1327 had serologies done. Among those 1273 (96%) completed the questionnaire and were included in the analysis. SARS-CoV-2 IgG antibodies were found in 60 (4.7%). In bivariate analysis, we found associations between SARS-CoV-2 seropositivity and persons who previously tested positive for COVID (OR 175.8 [95% CI 77.6 - 398.6]), persons who thought they had prior COVID but tested negative (OR 3.9 [95% CI 1.3 - 11.4]), and persons who thought they had prior COVID but did not get a COVID test (OR 4.2 [95% CI 1.4 - 12.5]). In a multivariate model of SARS-CoV-2 seropositivity examining work- and non-work-related COVID exposures (Table), seropositivity was associated with work-related COVID exposure without adequate personal protective equipment (PPE) (OR 5.1 [95% CI 2.1 - 12.2]), work-related COVID exposure with adequate PPE (OR 3.5 [95% CI 1.5 - 8.0]), never wearing a mask outside of work (OR 7.1 [95% CI 1.3 - 38.4]), and Native Hawaiian/Pacific Islander race (OR 6.6 [95% CI 1.7 - 23.4]). Seropositivity was inversely associated with living at home with multiple age groups (OR 0.4 [95% CI 0.2 - 0.8]). Multivariate Model of Exposures Associated with Positive COVID Serology Among LAC+USC Workforce Members Conclusion. Among workers in a large urban medical center prior to COVID vaccine availability, SARS-CoV-2 seropositivity was associated with work-related COVID exposures and low mask use outside of work, suggesting that COVID transmission in workforce members occurs both via occupational and non-occupational routes.
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Background. Long-term care facilities (LTCFs) are at high risk for severe COVID-19 outbreaks due to their congregate nature and vulnerable population. Oregon Health Authority (OHA) deployed point-of-care antigen (Ag) tests to promptly identify COVID-19 cases in LTCFs. However, their performance in identifying vaccine breakthrough cases has not been evaluated. Methods. During 2/25/21-5/25/21, OHA supported testing of residents and staff for two outbreaks at a single LTCF. Paired nasal swabs were collected and tested for SARS-CoV-2 by CDC Influenza SARS-CoV-2 Multiplex PCR Assay (molecular test) and Abbott BinaxNOW COVID-19 Ag Card (Ag test) twice weekly during the outbreaks. Participants were considered fully vaccinated if ≥ 14 days had passed since completion of a vaccine series;all others were deemed unvaccinated. A vaccine breakthrough case was defined as a positive Ag or molecular test from a fully vaccinated person's specimen. Performance characteristics of the Ag test were assessed, with molecular test as the reference standard. Cycle threshold (Ct) values were compared by one-sided independent t-tests. Results. 94 unvaccinated residents and staff provided 563 paired samples;SARSCoV-2 was detected in 21 (12 by Ag and molecular test, 6 by molecular test only, 3 by Ag test only), yielding Ag test sensitivity of 66.7% (95% CI: 43.8-83.7%) and specificity of 99.4% (95% CI: 98.4-99.8%). Mean Ct values were higher for specimens positive by PCR but negative by Ag than those positive by both (30.0 vs. 20.7, P < .01). 81 vaccinated persons provided 925 paired samples;SARS-CoV-2 was detected in 5 (1 by Ag and molecular test, 4 by molecular test only), yielding Ag test sensitivity of 20% (95% CI: 3.6-62.5%) and specificity of 100% (95% CI: 99.6-100%). Mean Ct values for specimens from vaccinated cases were higher than those from unvaccinated cases (30.2 vs. 23.8, P < .05). The lone Ag-positive breakthrough case had a Ct of 20;all others had Ct > 29. Conclusion. Ag test performance and reduced sensitivity on specimens with high Ct values found in this population are consistent with published data. Molecular testing maximizes identification of vaccine breakthrough cases. More studies are needed to estimate the proportion of breakthrough cases missed by Ag testing and their risk of transmitting the virus in LTCFs.
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At present, the world is undergoing a pandemic spawning from the advent of a new coronavirus outbreak known as COVID-19. As a result, hospital staff, paramedics, first responders, and the general world population have been forced to wear personal protective equipment (PPE) and take special measures to prevent catching the virus. Furthermore, because of this necessity, increasing demand on the PPE supply chain has generated many shortages, especially seen in masks designed to stop the inhalation of COVID-19 particles in the air. This inspired our group to design something that could help make PPE more accessible and affordable for the average person. The proposed is an almost entirely 3D printed design to help keep costs down and make it simplistic, such that anyone with a 3D printer has the potential to duplicate it. We hope that with the design, we can help combat the shortage and keep more people safe from COVID-19. Copyright © 2021 by ASME.
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This study presents four robot systems that utilize artificial intelligence techniques to assist students, teachers, and staff in the university. The goal of the assist robot systems is to reduce workload and enhance the effect in teaching and learning as well as improve the learning environment at university. The four robot systems including virtual assistant, telepresence, guide, and delivery robots were proposed and developed. In online learning, the virtual assistant robot supports students and teachers in learning and teaching by an interactive and informative learning environment and consequently maximizing learning outcomes. The telepresence robot allows students to follow the classroom at home or hospital in the case that students are unable to attend classes due to special reasons (Covid-19 pandemic, illness). The guide robot was developed as a physical robot which places or moves in the small range at the library, administrative building, restaurant, and residence to provide information such as book searching, freshman quiz, restaurant menu, events, and places. Finally, the delivery robot aims to deliver documents, books, and food/drink to students and teachers on the university campus in the motive of improving the quality of life and services. The motivation of this paper is highlighting the benefits of using robots in the development of smart-university. Experiments at Eastern International University showed that students are interested in the four robot systems and these robots enhance student engagement in learning and campus activities as well as significantly reduce the teacher’s workload. The virtual assistant, the telepresence, and the delivery robots gave great benefits in tackling the effect of the COVID-19 pandemic while the guide robot created exciting experience and productive outcomes for new students and visitors. © 2022 J. Adv. Inf. Technol.
ABSTRACT
COVID-19, caused by the novel coronavirus SARS-CoV-2, has put most of the world under lockdown. Despite approved vaccines, COVID-19 cases, hospitalizations, and deaths have remained on the rise. Rapid diagnosis and necessary public health measures are still key parts to contain the pandemic. Here, the colorimetric isothermal nucleic acid amplification tests (iNAATs) for SARS-CoV-2 detection based on loop-mediated isothermal amplification (LAMP), cross-priming amplification (CPA), and polymerase spiral reaction (PSR) were designed and compared in performance for the first time. The findings showed that, for the detection of SARS-CoV-2 genomic-RNA, LAMP outperformed both CPA and PSR, exhibiting the limit of detection (LOD) of roughly 43.14 copies/reaction. The results can be read with the naked eye within 45 minutes, without cross-reactivity to closely related coronaviruses. The direct detection of SARS-CoV-2 RNA in simulated specimens by iNAATs was also successful. Additionally, the lyophilized reagents for LAMP reactions maintained the sensitivity and LOD of the liquid assays. The colorimetric LAMP assay was validated using clinical samples, showing 98.1% sensitivity and 100% specificity upon using extracted samples and 82.4% sensitivity and 86.2% specificity upon using unextracted specimens. The results indicate that the direct colorimetric LAMP assay developed is highly suitable for detecting SARS-CoV-2 at point-of-care. © ScienceIn Publishing.