Track-and-Trace Progress Benefits Supply-Chain Security Efforts

COVID-19 vaccines, approved under emergency use authorization, were not required to meet serialization requirements, but they have been properly labelled to meet US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) requirements, he says, complete with 2D barcodes with GTIN, lot, and expiry date. The company decided to serialize its Diprovan anesthetic, a workhorse generic product, using radio frequency identification tags containing the four identifiers (2). "If an agent is handling your product on your behalf, they need to leverage GS1 Standards including GTINs for products [and] global location numbers (GLNs) for physical locations, and share data electronically using electronic product code information services (EPCIS) to capture events from manufacturing to serialization [and] capping to shipping.

Countering Counterfeiters and Diverters

[...]the anticounterfeiting packaging market is projected to grow at a 7.8% compound annual growth rate to USS189.9 billion (€158 billion) in 2026 (1). [...]in anticipation of a spike in counterfeiting, the US Immigration and Customs Enforcement Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) has launched Operation Stolen Promise 2, to halt the production, distribution, and sale of illicit COVID-19 treatments and vaccines. The fact that the COVID-19 vaccines need to be shipped in stringent cold storage containers with radio frequency identification (RFID) temperature sensors along with specialized transportation methods will make it more difficult for counterfeiters to enter the supply chain, but not impossible." [...]Pitts predicts an increased focus on consumer engagement.

Towards Detection of Cyberbullying in Hinglish Code Mixed Data

Covid-19 eruption and lockdown situation have increased the usages of online platforms which have impacted the users. Cyberbullying is one of the negative outcomes of using social media platforms which leads to mental and physical distress. This study proposes a machine learning-based approach for the detection of cyberbullying in Hinglish text. We use the Hinglish Code-Mixed Corpus, which consists of over 6,000 tweets, for our experiments. We use various machine learning algorithms, including Logistic regression (LR), Multinomial Naive Bayes (MNB), Support vector machine (SVM), Random Forest (RF), to train our models. We evaluate the performance of the models using standard evaluation metrics such as precision, recall, and F1-score. Our experiments show that the LR with Term Frequency-Inverse Document Frequency (TFIDF) outperforms the other models, achieving 92% accuracy. Our study demonstrates that machine learning models can be effective for cyberbullying detection in Hinglish text, and the proposed approach can help identify and prevent cyberbullying on social media platforms. © 2023 Bharati Vidyapeeth, New Delhi.

QR codes during the pandemic: Seamful quotidian placemaking

During the COVID-19 pandemic, one technology for contact tracing has come to dominate – QR codes. As a technology pioneered in Japan two decades ago and mainstreamed in China, QR codes have quickly become part of quotidian placemaking. While locations such as China have fully incorporated QR code technology into everyday contexts including public transport and mobile wallet applications, QR codes in the West were relatively overlooked. That was, until the pandemic. In this article, we examine some of the ways QR codes are being imagined and reimagined as part of public placemaking practices. In order to do so, we begin with a short history of QR codes – emerging in Japan, becoming mainstream in China and their consequent uptake globally. We then discuss the methods of our Australian study conducted during the pandemic and the seamful/seamless findings from our study. © The Author(s) 2023.

Social Media Content Compilation of Online Banking Scams in the Philippines: A Literature Review

Online banking has been proven to be an effective and convenient way of providing banking services anywhere and has been a necessity since the COVID-19 pandemic has affected the Philippines. Alongside this fact, people have been victims of scams involving these online services. Therefore, this paper aimed to analyze reports of online banking scams reported on social media using content analysis. The 26 filtered posts are labeled with 27 codes generated, and the top six were discussed. Specifically, scam (88.46%) was the most common code, followed by phone calls (57.69%) and impersonation (53.84%). Benefits, verifying personal information, and social engineering all had 46.15% occurrences. It is recommended for potential online banking scams to verify with the bank before giving away information, and to raise awareness on the possible technique's scammers use. © 2023 ACM.

How could a new universal code of conduct prevent and resolve sovereign debt crises? Proposals for design and implementation

In response to the COVID‐19 crisis, government spending around the world has increased significantly and will continue to grow as interest rates rise. In view of protracted and costly sovereign debt restructurings in the previous decades, contractual and noncontractual instruments of the Global Debt Governance‐system have been insufficient to prevent and to resolve sovereign debt crisis. While statutory and comprehensive approaches to resolve sovereign debt crises lack the political support such as an insolvency procedure for states incomprehensive contractual approaches including collective action clauses (CACs) cannot fully secure a comprehensive debt resolution. Codes of conduct could constitute an essential instrument to contribute to preventing and resolving sovereign debt crises. There are two main impediments for establishing and adopting such codes of conduct effectively. First, a range of codes of conduct with different institutional settings and principles have been established − and partly implemented − including those of the Institute of International Finance, the United Nations, the G20, the IMF and the OECD. However, differing institutional settings do not contribute to preventing or effectively resolving debt crises when the actors concerned apply different codes of conduct. We suggest a new universal code of conduct in which the elements of the various proposals made by the public and private sectors would be combined. Second, the global economic governance structure lacks incentives for creditors and debtors to adhere to this new universal code of conduct. This paper proposes measures providing incentives for creditors and debtors to apply the nonstatutory code of conduct.

Determinants of supplier payment times before and during the pandemic: Empirical evidence from UK firms

Timely, compliant payment to suppliers is a significant issue in purchasing and supply management (PSM) but research into its determinants is limited. Here we draw on social responsibility, fintech and digital purchasing literatures, and institutional and stakeholder theories to explain variations in supplier payment times. A sample of 509 firms spanning 2018–2021 is used for panel regression analysis. Contrary to expectations, the COVID-19 pandemic did not lead to longer payment times or reduced compliance with payment terms, which we attribute to state-funded business supports and corporate decisions to accelerate payment to vulnerable suppliers. Institutional pressure in the form of payment codes was associated with shorter payment times and improved compliance during the pandemic. Supply chain finance (SCF) was associated with longer payment times during the pandemic while e-invoicing had no effect. Overall, institutional pressure seems to contribute to faster payment but stakeholder-centred fintech and digitalisation does not.

International Classification of Diseases (ICD)

This article presents the history, contents, structures, functions, and applications of the International Classification of Diseases (ICD), which is a global standard maintained by the World Health Organization (WHO). The article aims to present ICD from the knowledge organization perspective and focuses on the current versions, ICD-10 and ICD-11. It also introduces the relationship between ICD and other health knowledge organization systems (KOSs), plus efforts in research and development reported in health informat-ics. The article concludes that the high-level effort of promoting a unified classification system such as ICD is critical in providing a common language for systematic recording, reporting, analysis, interpretation, and comparison of mortality and morbidity data. It greatly enhances the constancy of coding across languages, cultures, and healthcare systems around the world.

Study of Pandemic of 2020-2021 by Sociocultural Groups of Countries: Applied Analysis of Parameters

Sociocultural factors have become a one of the priority areas in research within the framework of theories of long-term development. This article discusses the parameters of groups of countries (values of survival-self-expression and traditional secular-rational values) according to the Inglehart - Welzel cultural map, along with other sociocultural and socio-economic indicators. The significant cumulative advantage (gross domestic product (GDP) per capita) of three groups of countries - Anglo-Saxon, Protestant and Catholic - compared to the rest reflects a long history of world progress. A number of the social parameters of these groups probably reflect their level of development, to which other factors have played a role in the long term. A key question addressed in the article. is whether sociocultural factors that have developed over long periods have a significant impact on the behaviour of countries in the context of modern crises, and in this case, on the incidence of vaccination in countries in critical conditions. To answer this question, qualitative and quantitative methods of analysis have been conducted using the instance of the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020-21. The hypothesis was tested on an array of 80-94 countries for which there was relevant statistical data. The tables and calculations presented in the article indicate the following results: countries more advanced in the direction of self-expression values on the Inglehart scale demonstrate higher vaccination scores and lower disease scores, and those oriented toward secular-rational values have higher rates of suicide than countries with predominantly traditional views.

Customized Luminescent Multiplexed Quick-Response Codes as Reliable Temperature Mobile Optical Sensors for eHealth and Internet of Things

The need to sense and track in real time through sustainable and multifunctional labels is exacerbated by the COVID-19 pandemic, where the simultaneous measurement of body temperature and the fast tracking of people is required. One of the big challenges is to develop effective low-cost systems that can promote healthcare provision everywhere and for that, smarter and personalized Internet of things (IoT) devices are a pathway in large exploration, toward cost reduction and sustainability. Using the concept of color-multiplexed quick response (QR) codes, customized smart labels formed by two independent layers and smart location patterns provide simultaneous tracking and multiple synchronous temperature reading with maximum sensitivity values of 8.5% K-1 in the physiological temperature range, overwhelming the state-of-the-art optical sensor for healthcare services provided electronically via the internet (eHealth) and mobile sensors (mHealth).

Positive Predictive Value of ICD-10-CM Codes for Myocarditis in Claims Data: A Multi-Institutional Study in Taiwan.

Purpose: The validity of the diagnosis codes to identify myocarditis cases in healthcare databases research remains unclear, and this study aimed to determine the coding accuracy of myocarditis in Taiwan. Methods: We conducted a cross-sectional study based on Taiwan's largest multi-institutional healthcare system to identify inpatients newly diagnosed with ICD-10-CM myocarditis codes at discharge between January 1st, 2017 and March 31st, 2022. We ascertained the myocarditis diagnosis by a gold standard biopsy or by review of electronic medical records, and the positive predictive values (PPV) with 95% confidence intervals (CI) of the ICD-10-CM codes for myocarditis were determined. Results: We included a total of 498 inpatients (mean age: 33.8 years old; female: 38.8%) with new myocarditis diagnosis at discharge. Codes I409 (30.1%) and I514 (45.4%) constituted the majority of myocarditis diagnostic codes in any coding position, and the overall PPV of the myocarditis codes was 73.5% (95% CI: 69.6-77.4%). However, the highest PPV (96.6%) for myocarditis diagnosis was noted with code I409 as the primary diagnosis. We found 132 inpatients (26.5%) who were false-positive myocarditis cases, identified by the ICD-10-CM codes, and potential reasons for misclassification included other inflammation diseases (n=35, 26.5%), pre-existing heart failure (n= 25, 18.9%) and acute myocardial infarction (n=16, 12.1%). Conclusion: The PPV of ICD-10-CM codes for myocarditis in Taiwan was acceptable, but some other inflammation diseases and pre-existing heart diseases may be falsely coded as myocarditis. Our results may serve future secondary database studies as a fundamental reference on the validity of myocarditis diagnosis codes.

The Language of Smell: Code Failure

In today's world filled with complex signs and symbols, visual and auditory channels are the most intensive in semiotic terms. The language of smell, associated with the most ancient reactions, is usually considered as secondary and supplementary, and its possibilities for conveying meanings are limited to simple recognition. However, experts have been using the alphabet of smells to convey emotional messages from ancient times to date. The assessment of the role of odors in the modern world became possible due to the Covid-19 pandemic which often involved the loss, change or intensification of the sense of smell. In the course of the study 250 cases were considered, representing the stories associated with the disease and deviations in the perception of odors. The loss of the perception of unpleasant odors makes it impossible to learn about the dangers which cannot be perceived visually like in ancient times (spoiled food, poisoned air, etc.). Phantom interpretation of odors is often unpleasant: people can identify the smells of burning, ammonia, acetone, decomposition, feces, and others, and sometimes the excessiveness of an ordinary smell is unpleasant as well. The change of sign recognition can cause serious consequences for people. Phantom unpleasant odors can result in changes in eating habits and cause problems in communication. © 2023, The Author(s), under exclusive license to Springer Nature Switzerland AG.

In the Eye of the Storm: Entrepreneurs and Well-Being During the COVID-19 Crisis: ET&P

In this paper, we examine the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on the well-being of entrepreneurs. We surveyed a representative sample of Swedish entrepreneurs and wage employees at different stages of the COVID-19 pandemic. The survey data, combined with register data, show that the COVID-19 outbreak has a negative effect on the well-being of entrepreneurs in terms of increased perceived stress. However, this negative effect is weaker for entrepreneurs who feel younger than their chronological age and entrepreneurs who are geographically distant from the epicenter of the crisis.

Variation in Spending Associated With Primary Care Practices

Am J Manag Care. 2021;27(7):297-300. https://doi.org/10.37765/ajmc.2021.88557 _____ Takeaway Points Physician practices account for a significant amount of variation in spending. * There is widespread variation in spending associated with physician practices. * This likely reflects variation in utilization and in the prices of care delivered by the practice and the sites they refer to. * Significant savings can be obtained if patients shift from practices associated with high spending to those with low spending. _____ Although the country is making preliminary steps toward recovery, the COVID-19 pandemic has sent the United States into its most significant economic downturn since the Great Depression, which will significantly exacerbate pressure for employers to control health care spending. A large body of literature documents the significant variation in prices within markets, from which it can be inferred that considerable cost-saving opportunities are associated with price shopping.1 Importantly, physician practice prices have not been found to be associated with quality or efficiency metrics.2 The literature on practice style variation suggests that there may also be savings opportunities from identifying physicians with less intensive practice styles.3 For example, physician beliefs about treatment regimens contribute to significant regional differences in physician practice spending.4 Similarly, physician experience is associated with spending, as less experienced primary care physicians (PCPs) and specialists have higher overall costs.5 Much of the practice variation literature focuses on market-level analysis, which masks widespread variation within geography.6,7 For this reason, the National Academy of Medicine has called for greater understanding of variation attributable to physician practice styles.8 We extend the nascent research on this topic using unique data on commercial prices and spending. [...]patient preferences regarding specialist visits are associated with higher specialist utilization, suggesting that other factors besides PCP referrals can play significant roles in care usage.9 Moreover, research has shown that patients are often unwilling to sacrifice time or money to maintain continuity of care with PCPs;such continuity is associated with better outcomes and more cost-effective care.10 However, given that PCPs serve as a first contact and main provider for most individuals, identifying variation in practice spending and prices still provides valuable insight into how best to utilize primary care efficiently. Because we controlled for 3-digit zip code, the quartiles should be interpreted as relative to other practices in their 3-digit zip code.

Thermal Performance Assessment of Envelope Retrofits for Existing School Buildings in a Hot–Humid Climate: A Case Study in Chennai, India

This study aims to propose building envelope retrofit packages for existing naturally ventilated school buildings in the hot–humid climatic region of Chennai, India. Indoor thermal parameters were collected through field studies from nine sample classrooms of a selected school building in May 2019, between 9.00 am and 4.00 pm. The thermal performance assessment of the existing building was performed by examining the discomfort hours using the CBE thermal comfort tool. Envelope retrofit strategies gathered from the literature and building standards were applied and studied through simulation. The findings reveal the enormous potential to increase the thermal comfort of existing school buildings through envelope retrofit measures. The results demonstrate that the whole-building temperature can be reduced up to 3.2 °C in summer and up to 3.4 °C in winter. Implementing retrofit measures to the building envelopes of existing buildings will help school owners to increase the comfortable hours of whole buildings by up to 17%. In comparison, annual energy savings of up to 13% for the whole building can be made by enhancing the thermal performance of the building envelope. The findings will also help architects to optimise thermal performance and energy usage with minimal interventions.

Criminal remedies of counteraction to falsification of covid-19 test results

Comparative legal research of the criminal legislation of Georgia, the Republic of Poland and Ukraine in liability regulation for forgery of COVID-19 certification documents was undertaken. Research materials were taken from analyses of court verdicts of Georgia, the Republic of Poland and Ukraine in 2020 for criminal offences related to forgery of COVID-19 certificates and, the results of a survey of 98 practitioners of the National Police of Ukraine. Analysis showed the existence of gaps in the criminal legislation of all analyzed states for the responsibility for forgery of COVID-19 certificates. Appropriate changes and additions to the provisions of the Criminal Codes of Georgia, the Republic of Poland and Ukraine are proposed, to improve the regulation of forgery of these documents. © 2022, William S. Hein & Co., Inc.. All rights reserved.

Research on two-dimensional code scanning and automatic recording device for human body temperature measurement based on stm32

With the outbreak and normal development of COVID-19, the effective detection and recording of body temperature has become a new focus of our attention. At present, there is no complete system to measure temperature, automatic record and specific information at home and abroad. To this end, combined with professional knowledge, our team designed a two-dimensional code scanning and human body temperature automatic recording device with STM32F1 as the core. The device STM32F1 development board is the main control chip. By connecting the WIFI module through the serial port, STM32F1 uses the function of wireless communication. Through the communication protocol, the link between the router and the ESC cloud server of Ali Cloud is utilized. The router or mobile data is transmitted to the user side (APP, applets) according to the specified communication protocol. Inside the development board, the code of each part is written to complete the device integrating code scanning and temperature measurement, which can be displayed and alarm through the node (OLED display screen). This will play a good role in preventing the spread of COVID-19. The system can be used in hospitals, communities, railway stations, shopping malls and many other public places. © 2022 IEEE.

IoTeach:Learning Support System for IoT Programming by Integrating Real Devices and Sequential Contents

In recent years, Internet of Things(IoT) has become popular, the requirements for sharing the operation/mechanisms of IoT devices, such as Arduino and M5Stack are increasing. Moreover, owing to the coronavirus pandemic, many educational institutions have adopted online lectures, such as on-demand classes and online classes using video conference systems. For IoT programming education, these methods have challenges, such as a lack of linkage with real-world devices and source codes. In this study, we propose a system called "IoTeach", which supports the learning of IoT programming by attaching a scripting language to sequential contents, such as videos and slides shared on the Web. The IoTeach can link videos and slides with real-world IoT devices and source codes. We describe the concept and implementation of the system in this study. © 2023 Owner/Author.

A modern online interview platform for recruitment system

Video conferencing applications have become an integral part of today's world for attending interviews, classes, meetings, and assorted gatherings as well in the COVID-19 era. Alongside the increased use of such applications to facilitate the process of conducting interviews, the quality interview has taken a hit overall. This is largely because prospective candidates resort to fraud by switching tabs and using their phones during the course of an interview, and so come through with flying colors despite a clear lack of skills. Consequently, deserving candidates with the requisite skill set lose out to impostors who manage to clear the interviews. In this paper, we propose an approach to make interviews straightforward and fair to all candidates. Our Online Interview Platform, a web application built using Node.js and Express.js, offers indispensable features that are prerequisites for an interview. These include a real-time collaborative code editor that uses an operational transformation algorithm which allows users to collaborate in real time, test and run code;a video/audio conferencing feature using Peer JS;a chat box for communication, and a real-time collaborative whiteboard that lets users design or draw diagrams. The features are included in the same tab, thus ensuring that the candidate does not switch tabs. Using this application, candidates will be screened based on their technical knowledge, appropriately assessed, and performance-based hiring decisions made. The proposed approach proved that the malpractices strictly restricted while comparing with existing approaches. © 2021

The impact of life experiences on the school disciplinary practices of suburban high school administrators

This narrative study examined how the life experiences of high school administrators impact how they conceptualize and understand school discipline. These experiences were then positioned within the current context of COVID-19 pandemic related school closures and protests associated with George Floyd's death which brought light to systemic racism prevalent in school codes of conduct to determine how these events changed their disciplinary practices. Semi-structured interviews were conducted with eight administrators from suburban schools in the New York metropolitan region that also had a minority student population of at least 10%. Transcripts were analyzed using in vivo and process coding to identify themes across the interviews. Three themes were identified: elements that lead to an initial understanding of school discipline, how these initial practices change over time, and the twin impact of COVID-19 and protests highlighting systemic racism causing a drastic change to how administrators respond to student misbehavior. These findings were then analyzed using Critical Race Theory and situated among the current literature. The first finding was centered on the understanding administrators use their personal experiences as both as student and teacher to establish their understanding of school discipline. The second finding uncovered an awareness that in order to address student behaviors, administrators develop stakeholder connections. Lastly, there was an awareness and discovery that codes of conduct in their respective schools contributed to disproportionate discipline. While some administrators had already been working to enact change, others were in the beginning stages of learning about this problem and were unsure of the next steps. Form these findings, recommendations for practice and research were proposed. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2023 APA, all rights reserved)