Rapid exchange of a percutaneous gastrostomy tube during an early episode of COVID-19

We retrospectively report a case of rapid exchange of a percutaneous radiologic gastrostomy tube (balloon-occluded type catheter) via off-label use of a pigtail catheter for nutrition supply during a very early episode of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) in an outpatient clinic. This case demonstrates that minimally invasive percutaneous procedures might be provided safely and effectively under appropriate precautions for preventing COVID-19 transmission during the pandemic.Copyright © 2023, Society of Gastrointestinal Intervention.

The danger of inappropriate use of personal protective equipment

The coronavirus pandemic is a global health emergency which has had widespread unforeseen mental health consequences. Those with borderline personality disorder are predisposed to poor coping strategies to manage such stress and require intense psychological input which was not widely available during the peak of the pandemic. It is likely that the coronavirus outbreak has had a significant impact on the mental stability of such patients aggravating deliberate self-harm behaviours. A 20-year old psychiatric in-patient with borderline personality disorder, held under Section III of the mental health act, presented to the adult plastic surgery team in Bristol with localised infection of her right forearm. Foreign bodies were easily palpable and imaging revealed linear metal objects. The patient reported that she had removed metal strips from her collection of face masks and inserted them into her forearm as an act of deliberate self-harm. The patient was taken to operating theatre for removal of these foreign bodies under general anaesthetic. After twenty-four hours of antibiotics she was discharged safely back to the psychiatric ward. Despite the epilogue of the COVID-19 pandemic facemasks are still mandatory within the hospital setting. Clinicians need to be aware of these unusual circumstances where a form of protective equipment was deconstructed to cause actual bodily harm. The purpose of this report is to promote awareness of this type of injury especially in those suffering from mental illness. The authors would suggest an alternative mask without any form of metal.

Keeping patients safe from summertime illnesses

"5 However, more recent findings, such as the presentation of joint swelling without EM in Black children, are the result of research efforts to identify differences among racial and ethnic groups in presentations of disease symptoms, with the aim of greater diagnostic accuracy and reduced health care disparities.4 Treatment of Lyme disease Although most resources, such as the CDC's website,1 published articles and sites,2,3 and the Red Book,5 recommend that pediatric, adolescent, and young adult patients with Lyme disease receive an antibiotic, such as doxycycline, amoxicillin, or cefuroxime (for penicillin-allergic patients), these publications differ in recommended dosage and duration of treatment. [...]PHCPs who are unfamiliar with antibiotic treatments for Lyme disease should consult with infectious disease specialists. Children who have evidence of Lyme carditis, Lyme arthritis, cranial neuritis, Lyme meningitis, or radiculoneuritis should immediately be referred to infectious disease and the appropriate pediatric specialists.2 Respiratory infections and health care inequities Although researchers have reported studies on racial and ethnic inequities among children related to respiratory diseases over the last 20 years, few randomized controlled trials have scientifically investigated the problem or have identified and rigorously investigated evidencebased interventions. The COVID-19 pandemic brought a new focus in pediatric health care on the inequities experienced by Black, Hispanic, American Indian or Alaska Native, and Pacific Islander children living in poverty, who regularly experience a disproportionate number of respirator y illnesses and infections.6 Several studies have shown increased hospitalization rates for Blac k and H ispan ic children who contracted COVID-19.6 One team of researchers studying children from birth to 4 years old reported a hospitalization rate of 55% for Black and Hispanic children.7 For years, PHCPs have observed and treated children for asthma in all health care settings. Bhavnani et al reported that Black children had a 7-fold higher rate of emergency department visits compared with White children in 2019, 1 year before the pandemic began.8 However, the difference decreased to a 2-fold increase for Black children compared with White children in 2020, when COVID-19 measures such as masking, social distancing, and school closures were in place.8 Researchers are continuing to investigate why Black and Hispanic children are more vulnerable to upper respiratory infections with viruses such as influenza, rhinovirus, and adenovirus.8 Summertime prevention of respiratory infections Talking about prevention strategies with families is the first step toward reducing asthma episodes and exacerbations.

The Influence of Social Media and Sustainability Advocacy on the Purchase Intention of Filipino Consumers in Fast Fashion

The large consumption of fast fashion brings many negative environmental impacts. Filipino consumers love and buy fast fashion because it is relatively cheap but trendy, and there are lots of fashionable designs to choose from. Despite the shortage in water supply and disposal issues of fast fashion, people still continue to purchase. The lack of awareness of consumers on sustainable fashion consumption led the researchers to conduct a study that aims to identify factors affecting Filipino consumers' buying decisions on fast fashion using the combined theory of planned behavior, elaboration likelihood model, and hedonic motivation. A total of 407 participants were gathered through a convenience sampling approach, and the data collected were analyzed using structural equation modeling (SEM). The result shows that attitude towards fast fashion is the highest contributing factor to purchase intention. While social media positively affects purchase intention, sustainability advocacy negatively impacts the consumers' intention to buy fast fashion. The awareness of sustainability leads to consumption reduction of fast fashion garments. Surprisingly, perceived product price and quality do not show a significant influence on purchase intention. Incorporating sustainability advocacy on social media may be a great strategy to encourage the sustainable consumption of fashion garments. The findings of this study could be a great tool to influence fashion companies and government institutions to promote sustainability awareness and transition marketing strategies to the sustainable consumption of fashion.

Ready-to-wear products preferred by individuals who are regular sports

Living conditions in today's metropolitan cities shorten the time it takes for individuals to do sports. With the Covid-19 pandemic, the use of the home office environment has increased, causing physical activities to be moved to the indoor environment. The home environment has brought people's desire for socialization, physical activity, reduction of anxiety levels, and psychological relaxation to the fore even more. The epidemic, which still continues after the closure of more than two years, has expanded the use of casual clothes in the field of formal wear. Employees at the global level have turned to the use of leisure clothing, which provides more comfort than in the past. Depending on this demand, production has also gained momentum in the global sports ready-to-wear industry. This study aims to determine the ready-made clothing products preferred by individuals who regularly do sports and compare them with global data. The data of the research, in which the descriptive method was selected, was collected from structured questionnaires and literature data. The study group consisted of 208 people who volunteered to participate in the research and whose answers were accepted as valid, among the people who regularly do sports in the four big cities of Turkey (Bursa, Ankara, Istanbul, Izmir). Some of the data were collected over the internet due to the epidemic, and some of the data were collected through face-to-face interviews in gyms. Descriptive statistics applied data show similarities with global-based apparel market data. Individuals do sports to stay physically and mentally healthy and socialize. Indoor sports halls and houses are the most preferred places for sports activities, and the most preferred clothing products are t-shirts, tracksuits, and undershirt/singlet. The findings have been interpreted comparatively with the global data. It has been tried to reveal the future-oriented data for the product groups and market segments of the companies.

Post-Covid-19 Pandemic IT Project Management Skills and Challenges

Since December 2019, the COVID-19 pandemic has harmed social, financial, and work life. The novel coronavirus has caused problems in all business sectors, including Information Technology(IT). Many Projects have been stopped or delayed due to the impact of this pandemic. Most of the companies recognized the importance of IT to achieve competitive advantage and to survive. Companies are investing a lot of money in IT projects. More than 60% of IT project fail. Lack of professional IT project management is one of the main reasons for that fail. Managing IT projects is a complex problem. Crises such as COVID 19 and uncertainty are increasing the complexity and challenges in IT projects management. This paper investigates what are the IT project management Key success factors required during and after the Pandemic. Secondary data were collected from literature review in the field of IT project management. an online questionnaire was used to collect the primary data from 107 IT firms. 323 respondents were participated. It is concluded that the following Key success factors are required: e-communication, centralization of data, online project monitoring, designing new policies and guidelines for incorporating new work culture, gaining and establishing project risk management exercises, especially cybersecurity and data protection by gaining access to the latest tools, establishing a culture for strict usage of Personal Protective Equipment (PPEs) to help project managers complete projects safely, and top management support. © 2023 IEEE.

COVID-19 debunks the myth of socially sustainable supply chain: A case of the clothing industry in South Asian countries.

The recent outbreak of the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) has exposed the fragility of the clothing supply chain operating in South Asian countries. Millions of workers have become jobless and are staring at an uncertain future. The purpose of this research is to understand the reasons behind the lack of social sustainability in the clothing supply chain operating in South Asian countries and to suggest ways for an appropriate redressal. Interviews with experts have revealed that the dominant power of some brands in the clothing supply chain is the primary reason. Unauthorised subcontracting of clothing manufacturing and the use of contract labour are also responsible for violations in the 'code of conducts' of social compliance. Post COVID-19, a sustainable sourcing model that incorporates disruption risk sharing contracts between the brands and suppliers should be adopted. Unauthorised subcontracting of clothing manufacturing by the suppliers must be prohibited. Supplier selection and the order allocation policies of the brands should also be tuned to facilitate social security of workers. The participation of NGOs and labour unions should be encouraged so that community development initiatives reach the grassroots level.

Analysis of the effects of store image, trust and perceived quality on consumption habits of textile products in the COVID-19 pandemic

Consumer clothing presents behaviors defined by pre-established trends and patterns in contemporary societies, and in general the consumption of textile products follows this trend. However, as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic and the restrictions perpetuated as a consequence of it, the consumption of textile products has been affected throughout the world. Under this premise, the objective of this research is to analyze the effect of store images, trust and perceived quality on the habits of the textile consumer in the context of the COVID-19 pandemic, for which, firstly, a review of the literature was carried out regarding the variables of the habits of the textile consumer and their relationship with the store image, trust and perceived quality, for which documents from academic search engines were taken into account, such as Scopus, Web of Science, ResearchGate and Google Scholar. On the other hand, a survey was conducted among textile consumers in Ecuador. The measurement tool was completed by 500 participants. In this way, the survey was conducted virtually through Google Forms and through the use of IBM SPSS software. The sampling technique consisted of convenience sampling. For the specific case of this investigation, it was decided to opt for the use of 500 valid questionnaires. This allowed one to propose a model of structural equations based on constructs associated with reference investigations. The main results of this research confirmed that there is a positive impact of the image of the trusted establishment on the product, as well as a positive impact on the general perceived quality of consumption habits (comparison) and on the effect of the quality of perceived service in consumption habits (planning).

Changing attire, changing impressions: How instructor attire influences undergraduate student perceptions

As time passes, different groups of students might perceive things differently than those who preceded them. The idea of what higher education should be, look like, feel like, and be reflected upon in the aftermath might be shifting from the worldviews which have existed in recent decades. Added to the generally changing nature of perspectives, students have endured a substantial paradigm shift caused by the Covid-19 pandemic which upended their anticipation of what the classroom will be like, including assessing their instructors and the content of those courses. Literature has suggested that nonverbal signals, including attire, can influence perceptions of others which further suggests that by manipulating how one dresses, they can have a strategic impact on how others perceive them. As such instructors in higher education may not be up to date with the knowledge of how students are perceiving them which in turn could affect engagement, grades, content utilization, evaluations, and enrollment, all of which have implications for the entire organizational apparatus. A quantitative methodology utilizing an experimental survey design was utilized with a convenience sample of 144 undergraduate students enrolled in Communication Studies courses at a large mid-Atlantic university to determine what styles of instructor attire influenced student perceptions of the instructor's credibility, approachability, and affective learning qualities. Data was analyzed using a one-way analysis of variance (ANOVA) via SPSS which revealed that significant differences in attire for approachability and affective learning existed between attire styles, but not for credibility. While this study was helpful in updating knowledge of student perceptions of instructor attire, it was limited to only the perspectives of a Caucasian male and only the perceived characteristics of credibility, approachability, and affective learning qualities. Future researchers may want to replicate this study for greater generalizability, explore other instructor demographics and/or to add additional perceptual attributes or characteristics. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2023 APA, all rights reserved)

IoT Methods for Determining PPE Mask Fitness

The COVID-19 pandemic showed the importance of Personal Protective Equipment (PPE), which has been instrumental in providing efficient and effective protection against exposure to the virus for its users. The widespread use of face masks has highlighted the shortcomings of single-use PPE, in particular, the fit of a mask has a large impact on its effectiveness. The research presented in this paper focuses on automatically determining the fitness of masks on an individual with any face structure. The approach in this paper is to use IoT sensors attached to PPE masks in order to detect the tightness and fit of the mask. This approach was tested using three different types of commercially available masks and showed that it is feasible to detect their tightness and fit of them. This study concludes that IoT-based methods can be used effectively to improve the safety of PPE masks. © 2022 IEEE.

Modelling Proper and Improper Sitting Posture of Computer Users Using Machine Vision for a Human–Computer Intelligent Interactive System during COVID-19

Featured ApplicationThe study could be used for sitting posture monitoring in a work-from-home setup. This could also be used for rehabilitation purposes of patients who has posture-related problems.Human posture recognition is one of the most challenging tasks due to the variation in human appearance, changes in the background and illumination, additional noise in the frame, and diverse characteristics and amount of data generated. Aside from these, generating a high configuration for recognition of human body parts, occlusion, nearly identical parts of the body, variations of colors due to clothing, and other various factors make this task one of the hardest in computer vision. Therefore, these studies require high-computing devices and machines that could handle the computational load of this task. This study used a small-scale convolutional neural network and a smartphone built-in camera to recognize proper and improper sitting posture in a work-from-home setup. Aside from the recognition of body points, this study also utilized points' distances and angles to help in recognition. Overall, the study was able to develop two objective datasets capturing the left and right side of the participants with the supervision and guidance of licensed physical therapists. The study shows accuracies of 85.18% and 92.07%, and kappas of 0.691 and 0.838, respectively. The system was developed, implemented, and tested in a work-from-home environment.

Did Anything Good Come Out of the Pandemic? COVID-19-Stress Induced Self-Regulatory Sustainable Apparel Consumption among the Millennials in the U.S

Based on the theoretical frameworks of cognitive dissonance theory, regulatory focus theory, and the compensatory consumer behavior model, we proposed and tested a conceptual model delineating the relationships between COVID-19-stress, commitment to the environment, and intentions for sustainable apparel consumption in terms of intentions for purchasing sustainable apparel and divesting apparel (e.g., handing down or donating apparel). Conducting an online survey (n = 312) with the national millennial population of the U.S., we found that COVID-19-stress positively influenced (i) commitment to the environment and (ii) purchase intentions for sustainable apparel;commitment to the environment positively influenced (iii) purchase intentions for sustainable apparel and (iv) intentions for divesting apparel. Although COVID-19-stress did not influence intentions for divesting apparel directly, commitment to the environment mediated the relationships between COVID-19-stress and both purchase intentions for sustainable apparel and intentions for divesting apparel. We suggest that COVID-19-stress triggered self-regulatory sustainable apparel consumption intentions due to a heightened commitment to the environment to protect the environment amid the pandemic. Based on the findings of our study, we recommend the sustainable apparel brands and marketers promote how sustainable apparel consumption can protect the environment to make the environment and human beings less susceptible to the future outbreaks of pandemics.

Acceptability and usability of a soft, flexible, wearable device for cough detection in children with cystic fibrosis

Background: Cough is a common symptom in cystic fibrosis (CF), and an increase in cough is an important sign of worsening lung disease and pulmonary exacerbation, the most common cause of hospitalization in people with CF. Objective monitoring of cough could be an important outcome measure for clinical trials, especially in children too young to perform pulmonary function tests. There are no accurate, objective methods of quantifying the frequency, severity, and duration of cough. Devices that have been tested to measure cough are neither highly reliable nor user friendly. We developed a mechano-acoustic sensor (MAS): a 4.8- cm- x 2.8-cm- (1 inch) long, thin, lightweight, stretchable, wireless device that adheres easily and securely to the skin surface and is worn at the base of the neck. The devicewas validated in adults being monitored for COVID- 19. This study evaluated usability and acceptability to children and their parents. Method(s): In Cohort 1, a small, flexible, fully wireless accelerometer-based MASwas applied to the suprasternal notch of children with CF using gentle adhesives. Participants were asked to perform activities that included forced coughs while sitting, lying down, and performing activities such as jumping or jogging and other pharyngolaryngeal activities such as swallowing, speaking, and throat clearing. The sessions were an average of about 30 minutes long. In Cohort 2, participants were asked to test the device for a longer period of wearable time (4-6 hours) in various settings, including outpatient clinics, inpatient rooms, and outside clinic and athome environments. Upon completion, all participants from both cohorts were asked to fill out the Acceptability and Usability Questionnaire, which consisted of six questions ranked on a 4-point Likert scale. Result(s): Cohort 1 included 21 children aged 3 to 18 (mean age 9.25 +/- 4.85), and Cohort 2 included 12 children aged 7 to 18 (mean age 12.15 +/- 4.42). On 31 (94%) questionnaires returned, 35.5% of participants strongly agreed and 61.3% agreed with the statement "I [or my child] like(s) wearing the cough sensor." Similarly, most participants found the cough sensor easy to use (74.2% strongly agreed, 25.8% agreed) and comfortable to wear (64.5% strongly agreed, 29.0% agreed), although they found the adhesive sticker difficult to take off and the device too obvious or large. Conclusion(s): Although qualitative and quantitative acceptability and usability data were overall positive, we have redesigned the cough sensor for comfort and are continuing enrollment. The new sensor, 3.5 x 1.6 x 0.8 cm, is smaller and sits lower on the neck so participants can better conceal it underneath clothing (Figure 1). We are providing universal adhesive remover wipes to all participants. Future work includes long-term monitoring (1-2 weeks) of pulmonary exacerbations using the new devices and further assessing usability and acceptability from participants.(Figure Presented) Figure 1. New cough sensor design with a longer neck and a smaller body, allowing it to be better concealed underneath a shirtCopyright © 2022, European Cystic Fibrosis Society. All rights reserved

Special issue on COVID. (Special issue on COVID.)

This special issue comprises 8 articles that explore various aspects of the COVID-19 pandemic from mathematical, statistical, and biological perspectives. The two articles in the mathematics category discuss optimal control strategies to limit the spread of COVID-19 in Italy and Jakarta, Indonesia, using quarantine, testing, and medical treatment. The statistics category features 4 articles that investigate the impact of temperature on the spread of COVID-19 in Gulf countries, the development of novel hybrid models for predicting COVID-19 in Kuwait, forecasting using basic reproduction number dynamics to analyze the pandemic's data, and a comparison of the multi-state models to assess the effect of antiviral treatment on SARS-CoV-2 infectious disease progression. The final 2 articles in the biology category focus on the bioinformatic analysis of antiviral medicinal compounds against SARS-CoV-2 proteases and the filtration efficiency of face masks and veils as protective measures during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Airway management in patients with COVID-19: an updated guide for clinicians in the emergency department

The coronavirus disease, also known as Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic, caused by the severe acute respiratory syndrome-coronavirus-2 virus has changed the characteristics of many methods used by healthcare providers. These modifications aimed to provide safety and reduce the risk of virus transmission. Some of the recommendations to reduce the risk of aerosol transmission during the intubation are usage of personal protective equipment (PPE) and video laryngoscopy (VL). After satisfactory preoxygenation, along with sedation and paralysis of the patient, modified rapid sequence induction is the recommended technique. Intubation timing and period should be arranged well in order to minimize aerosol spread. During intubation, barrier devices, such as screens and intubation boxes should be considered. Patient coughing during intubation can generate aerosols and should be avoided. Gentle airway manipulation is assured. It is prudent to use VL rather than direct laryngoscopy for intubation because VL increases the distance between the healthcare worker's face and the patient's face, which may minimize the risk of contamination. In this narrative review, we aimed to focus on protective measures and modifications occurred during COVID-19 pandemic. Copyright (C) 2022 Wolters Kluwer Health, Inc. All rights reserved.

Co-Combustion Investigation of Wood Pellets Blended with FFP2 Masks: Analysis of the Ash Melting Temperature

The COVID-19 pandemic brought a period of high consumption of protective masks and an increase in their waste. Therefore, it was necessary to look at possibilities for their disposal. This article is focused on the disposal of FFP2 masks in the form of pellets blended with sawdust. Further, their ash melting behavior was observed. The method of ash preparation can impact the resulting values of melting temperatures. Therefore, this article investigates the resulting values of ash melting temperatures determined during different ash preparations, such as temperatures (550 °C and 815 °C) and ash size (non-sifted, smaller than 50 µm and 100 µm). All measured deformation temperatures were higher than 1100 °C and even higher than 1200 °C for some samples. Moreover, the presence of FFP2 masks in pellets only insignificantly affected the values of melting temperatures compared to pure wood pellets. The measured values also showed that increasing the temperature of ash preparation from 550 to 815 °C can increase the resulting values of melting temperature. The most significant proportion of the fraction size on the resulting melting temperatures was observed for beech with 5% and 10% of masks at an ash temperature of 550 °C and for spruce with 10% of masks at an ash temperature of 815 °C. © 2023 by the authors.

Efficient, Breathable and Biodegradable Filter Media for Face Masks

The global outbreak of COVID-19 results in the surge of disposable sanitary supplies, especially personal protective face masks. However, the charge dissipation of the electret meltblown nonwovens, which predominate in the commercial face mask filters, confines the durability and safety of commercial face masks. Furthermore, most of the face masks are made from nondegradable materials (such as PP) or part of their degradation products are toxic and contaminative to the environment. Herein, a type of face mask with biodegradable and highly effective PLA bi-layer complex fibrous membrane as filter core is reported. The prepared PLA complex membrane possesses a high-filtration efficiency of 99.1% for PM0.3 while providing a favorable pressure drop of 93.2 Pa. With the PLA complex membrane as the filter core, our face mask exhibits comparable or even higher wearability to commercial face masks, which further manifests our designed PLA complex membrane a promising filter media for face masks. © 2023, The Author(s), under exclusive licence to the Korean Fiber Society.

Impact of Advertising Expenditure on the Sales of the Textile Industry (A Case Study of Leading Textile Companies in Pakistan)

[...]there is apparel for sale that has a limited lifespan and is deemed disposable (Gözet, B., and Wilts, H., 2022). [...]the sector has faced challenges such as increased production costs, energy tariffs, pricing, a lack of raw materials, obsolete technology, and a lack of investment. The country is shifting from exporting raw materials to value-added products, with significant increases in exports of readymade garments, knitwear, bedwear, towels, and cotton textiles. [...]global input cost increases and currency rate changes have increased the export sector's working capital needs (Goheer, 2022).

A Gesture Controlled System to Train and Guide the Healthcare Workers While Donning and Doffing Personal Protective Equipment

During the COVID-19 outbreak, many healthcare workers (HCWs) have been infected because they failed to comply with the correct process of donning and doffing personal protective equipment (PPE). Based on this, we develop a gesture-controlled system that not only can train HCWs but also can give HCWs real-time guidance during the process of donning and doffing PPE. It can effectively prevent the infection of HCWs. We first use the hand detection algorithm to locate the position of the HCWs, helping them to enter the proper area. Then they can use our gesture recognition algorithm to control the playback of the videos which guides them in donning and doffing PPE. We verify the effectiveness of the system through a series of experiments. The results show the great value of our system in the protection of HCWs. © 2022 IEEE.